Thistley Hough Academy
Thistley Hough, Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 5JJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CREATIVE EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Ms Michelle Lawrence
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Creative Education Trust
- Constituency
- Stoke-on-Trent Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,105
- URN
- 139068
- Local authority
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782883500
About this school
Thistley Hough Academy is a secondary academy in Stoke-on-Trent. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,105 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thistley Hough Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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 5 May 2022, 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 | 175 | 209 | 200 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.5 | 45.1 | 47.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.19 -0.03 to +0.41 | +0.23 +0.03 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 42.6% | 51.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 60.3% | 70.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 19.1% | 15% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
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 Thistley Hough 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 | Stoke-on-Trent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.5 | 31.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.1 | 29.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.9 | 30.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,044 |
| 2023/24 | 1,091 |
| 2024/25 | 1,095 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thistley Hough Academy compares
Thistley Hough Academy ranked 2nd of 14 secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.9 | 8.5% | 38.9% | 1,105 | — |
| St Joseph's College | 62.4 | 3.5% | 8.6% | 1,104 | 0.8 miles |
| Clayton Hall Academy | 45.8 | 8.5% | 20.1% | 828 | 1.0 miles |
| St Peter's CofE Academy | 34.4 | 8.5% | 48.7% | 1,052 | 1.4 miles |
| St John Fisher Catholic College | 41.8 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,075 | 1.8 miles |
| Newcastle Academy | 37.6 | 12.1% | 40.8% | 441 | 1.9 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)
- 38.9%
- English as an additional language
- 36.5%
- Overall absence
- 8.48%
- Persistent absence
- 24.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Joseph's College0.8 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Clayton Hall Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-under-Lyme
-
St Peter's CofE Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
St John Fisher Catholic College1.8 miles
Secondary · Newcastle Under Lyme
-
Newcastle Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Newcastle Under Lyme
Other schools in Stoke-on-Trent
Thistley Hough Academy ranks 5th of the 23 ranked secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Alsager School Secondary
- Biddulph High School Secondary
- Birches Head Academy Secondary
- Blythe Bridge High School Secondary
- Co-op Academy Florence MacWilliams Secondary
- Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent Secondary
- Discovery Academy Secondary
- Endon High School Secondary
- Haywood Academy Secondary
- Kidsgrove Secondary School Secondary
- Moorside High School Secondary
- Ormiston Meridian Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Thistley Hough Academy teach?
- Thistley Hough Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Who is the principal of Thistley Hough Academy?
- The principal of Thistley Hough Academy is Ms Michelle Lawrence, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thistley Hough Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thistley Hough 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 many pupils are at Thistley Hough Academy?
- Thistley Hough Academy has 1,105 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Thistley Hough Academy full?
- Thistley Hough Academy has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,105 on roll (105%), 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 Thistley Hough Academy a faith school?
- No. Thistley Hough Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Thistley Hough Academy a selective school?
- No. Thistley Hough Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Thistley Hough Academy part of an academy trust?
- Thistley Hough Academy is part of CREATIVE EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Thistley Hough Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.5 in 2022/23 and 47.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thistley Hough Academy compare with other schools in Stoke-on-Trent?
- Thistley Hough Academy ranked 2nd of 14 secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thistley Hough Academy's absence rate?
- Thistley Hough Academy's overall absence rate is 8.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thistley Hough Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thistley Hough 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.