Blue Coat Church of England Academy
Birmingham Street, Walsall, WS1 2ND
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- BLUE COAT CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY (WALSALL) TRUST
- Principal
- Mr David Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lichfield
- Sponsor
- Diocese of Lichfield
- Constituency
- Walsall and Bloxwich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 972
- URN
- 138606
- Local authority
- Walsall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01922720558
About this school
Blue Coat Church of England Academy is a Church of England secondary academy in Walsall. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 972 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 January 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 145 | 144 | 154 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.9 | 41.0 | 37.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.13 -0.37 to +0.12 | +0.02 -0.23 to +0.27 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 38.2% | 18.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 49% | 59% | 40.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 13% | 4.9% | 15.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Blue Coat Church of England Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Walsall average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39.9 | 44.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41 | 44.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.4 | 43 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 897 |
| 2023/24 | 932 |
| 2024/25 | 967 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Blue Coat Church of England Academy compares
Blue Coat Church of England Academy ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Walsall for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37.4 | 8.8% | 56.1% | 972 | — |
| Walsall Studio School | 26.9 | 18.2% | 45.8% | 206 | 0.3 miles |
| Queen Mary's Grammar School | 74.2 | 4.7% | 28.8% | 1,399 | 0.4 miles |
| Queen Mary's High School | 73.5 | 4.9% | 27.6% | 949 | 0.6 miles |
| Joseph Leckie Academy | 42.4 | 10.2% | 52.2% | 1,524 | 1.1 miles |
| West Walsall E-ACT Academy | 39.9 | 8.4% | 56.8% | 1,186 | 1.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 56.09%
- English as an additional language
- 63.5%
- Overall absence
- 8.79%
- Persistent absence
- 28.03%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Walsall Studio School0.3 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
Queen Mary's Grammar School0.4 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
Queen Mary's High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
Joseph Leckie Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
West Walsall E-ACT Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Walsall
Other schools in Walsall
Blue Coat Church of England Academy ranks 12th of the 16 ranked secondary schools in Walsall.
- Aldridge School - A Science College Secondary
- Barr Beacon School Secondary
- Brownhills Ormiston Academy Secondary
- Cheslyn Hay Academy Secondary
- Great Wyrley Academy Secondary
- Joseph Leckie Academy Secondary
- Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy Secondary
- Queen Mary's Grammar School Secondary
- Queen Mary's High School Secondary
- Shire Oak Academy Secondary
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic College Secondary
- Walsall Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Blue Coat Church of England Academy teach?
- Blue Coat Church of England Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Walsall.
- Who is the principal of Blue Coat Church of England Academy?
- The principal of Blue Coat Church of England Academy is Mr David Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Blue Coat Church of England Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Blue Coat Church of England Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Blue Coat Church of England Academy?
- Blue Coat Church of England Academy has 972 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Blue Coat Church of England Academy full?
- Blue Coat Church of England Academy has capacity for 900 pupils and 972 on roll (108%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Blue Coat Church of England Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Blue Coat Church of England Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Lichfield.
- Is Blue Coat Church of England Academy a selective school?
- No. Blue Coat Church of England Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Blue Coat Church of England Academy?
- Blue Coat Church of England Academy is part of BLUE COAT CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY (WALSALL) TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Blue Coat Church of England Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39.9 in 2022/23 and 37.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Blue Coat Church of England Academy rank locally?
- Blue Coat Church of England Academy ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Walsall for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Blue Coat Church of England Academy's absence rate?
- Blue Coat Church of England Academy's overall absence rate is 8.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Blue Coat Church of England Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Blue Coat Church of England Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.