Blackfriars Academy
Priory Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 2TF
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE SHAW EDUCATION TRUST
- Academy Principal
- Mr Jamie Campbell
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Shaw Education Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 120
- Pupils on roll
- 121
- URN
- 141448
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782987150
About this school
Blackfriars Academy is a special academy in Newcastle-under-Lyme. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 121 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Blackfriars Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 October 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 | 15 | 21 | 14 |
| Attainment 8 score | 0.5 | 0.5 | - |
| Progress 8 score | -1.71 -2.48 to -0.94 | -1.71 -2.35 to -1.08 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.0 | 0.0 | - |
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 Blackfriars 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 | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0.5 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 0.5 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | — | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 119 |
| 2023/24 | 118 |
| 2024/25 | 120 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 39.17%
- English as an additional language
- 4.2%
- Overall absence
- 10.84%
- Persistent absence
- 30.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Edenhurst Preparatory School0.4 miles
Independent schools · Newcastle-under-Lyme
-
Coppice Academy0.5 miles
Academies · Newcastle
-
Newcastle-under-Lyme School0.6 miles
Independent schools · Newcastle-under-Lyme
-
Demetae Academy0.7 miles
Independent schools
-
Lyme Brook Independent School0.7 miles
Special schools · Newcastle Under-Lyme
Other schools in Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Cedars - Newcastle, Moorlands and Darwin Bases Local authority maintained schools
- Kaleidoscope School Special schools
- Baldwins Gate CofE(VC) Primary School Primary
- Chesterton Primary School Primary
- Seabridge Primary School Primary
- Sun Academy Bradwell Primary
- Westlands Primary School Primary
- Clayton Hall Academy Secondary
- Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group 16 plus
- Edenhurst Preparatory School Independent schools
- Newcastle-under-Lyme School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Blackfriars Academy teach?
- Blackfriars Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
- Who is the academy principal of Blackfriars Academy?
- The academy principal of Blackfriars Academy is Mr Jamie Campbell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Blackfriars Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Blackfriars 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 Blackfriars Academy?
- Blackfriars Academy has 121 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Blackfriars Academy full?
- Blackfriars Academy has capacity for 120 pupils and 121 on roll (101%), 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 Blackfriars Academy a faith school?
- No. Blackfriars Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Blackfriars Academy part of an academy trust?
- Blackfriars Academy is part of THE SHAW EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Blackfriars Academy have?
- The schools register lists Blackfriars Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Blackfriars Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 0.5 in 2022/23 and 0.5 in 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Blackfriars Academy's absence rate?
- Blackfriars Academy's overall absence rate is 10.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Blackfriars Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Blackfriars 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.