William Brookes School
Farley Road, Much Wenlock, TF13 6NB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE 3-18 EDUCATION TRUST
- Head
- Mrs Ruth Shaw
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The 3-18 Education Trust
- Constituency
- South Shropshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 932
- Pupils on roll
- 748
- URN
- 139769
- Local authority
- Shropshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01952728900
About this school
William Brookes School is a secondary academy in Much Wenlock. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 748 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 159 | 156 | 168 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.6 | 39.4 | 41.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.87 -1.09 to -0.65 | -0.95 -1.17 to -0.73 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 32.7% | 37.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 55.1% | 54.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 29.5% | 19% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
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 William Brookes School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Shropshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.6 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.4 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.4 | 34 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 936 |
| 2023/24 | 903 |
| 2024/25 | 820 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How William Brookes School compares
William Brookes School ranked 15th of 20 secondary schools in Shropshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.4 | 9.6% | 19.4% | 748 | — |
| Haberdashers' Abraham Darby | 37.7 | 9.7% | 45.1% | 1,084 | 4.2 miles |
| Madeley Academy | 47.2 | 6.1% | 40.1% | 1,220 | 5.0 miles |
| The Telford Langley School | 35 | 7.5% | 42.6% | 1,140 | 5.7 miles |
| The Telford Park School | 28.4 | 12.9% | 50% | 698 | 6.3 miles |
| Ercall Wood Academy | 42.5 | 7.2% | 26.6% | 971 | 6.4 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.
Inspection history
- 8 May 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report15 February 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.37%
- English as an additional language
- 1.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.58%
- Persistent absence
- 27.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Haberdashers' Abraham Darby4.2 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
Madeley Academy5.0 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
The Telford Langley School5.7 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
The Telford Park School6.3 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
Ercall Wood Academy6.4 miles
Secondary · Telford
Other schools in Much Wenlock
- Brockton CofE Primary School Primary
- Much Wenlock Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does William Brookes School teach?
- William Brookes School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Much Wenlock.
- Who is the head of William Brookes School?
- The head of William Brookes School is Mrs Ruth Shaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was William Brookes School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected William Brookes School, 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 William Brookes School?
- William Brookes School has 748 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is William Brookes School full?
- William Brookes School has capacity for 932 pupils and 748 on roll (80%), so it has space against 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 William Brookes School a faith school?
- No. William Brookes School has no designated religious character.
- Is William Brookes School a selective school?
- No. William Brookes School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs William Brookes School?
- William Brookes School is part of THE 3-18 EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have William Brookes School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.6 in 2022/23 and 41.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does William Brookes School rank locally?
- William Brookes School ranked 15th of 20 secondary schools in Shropshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is William Brookes School's absence rate?
- William Brookes School's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are William Brookes School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, William Brookes School'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.