Kingsmead School
Kings Avenue, Cannock, WS12 1DH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- JOHN TAYLOR MAT
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Paul Averis
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- John Taylor MAT
- Constituency
- Cannock Chase
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,257
- Pupils on roll
- 1,427
- URN
- 142313
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01543227320
About this school
Kingsmead School is a secondary academy in Cannock. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,427 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Kingsmead School, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 188 | 211 | 215 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.1 | 51.3 | 48.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.70 +0.50 to +0.91 | +0.44 +0.24 to +0.63 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 74.9% | 66.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 10% | 11.8% | 9.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
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 Kingsmead 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 | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.1 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.3 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.5 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,365 |
| 2023/24 | 1,409 |
| 2024/25 | 1,429 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kingsmead School compares
Kingsmead School ranked 11th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% 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 | 48.5 | 8.5% | 19.2% | 1,427 | — |
| Staffordshire University Academy | 32.9 | 7.4% | 44.6% | 709 | 1.1 miles |
| Cannock Chase High School | 42.1 | 9.7% | 35.2% | 1,113 | 1.3 miles |
| Cardinal Griffin Catholic College | 43.6 | 8.6% | 29.9% | 732 | 1.8 miles |
| Norton Canes High School | 34.8 | 9.3% | 36.7% | 400 | 2.0 miles |
| Great Wyrley Academy | 39 | 10.8% | 33% | 606 | 2.7 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
-
Graded inspection report10 March 2026
- 1 December 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.22%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- Overall absence
- 8.49%
- Persistent absence
- 24.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Staffordshire University Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Cannock
-
Cannock Chase High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Cannock
-
Cardinal Griffin Catholic College1.8 miles
Secondary · Cannock
-
Norton Canes High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Cannock
-
Great Wyrley Academy2.7 miles
Secondary · Walsall
Other schools in Cannock
Kingsmead School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Cannock.
- Cannock Chase High School Secondary
- Cardinal Griffin Catholic College Secondary
- Norton Canes High School Secondary
- Staffordshire University Academy Secondary
- Hednesford Nursery School Nursery
- Bridgtown Primary School Primary
- Chadsmoor CofE (VC) Junior School Primary
- Chadsmoor Community Infants and Nursery School Primary
- Five Ways Primary School Primary
- Gorsemoor Primary School Primary
- Hazel Slade Primary Academy Primary
- Heath Hayes Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Kingsmead School teach?
- Kingsmead School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Cannock.
- Who is the headteacher of Kingsmead School?
- The headteacher of Kingsmead School is Headteacher Paul Averis, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Kingsmead School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kingsmead 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 many pupils are at Kingsmead School?
- Kingsmead School has 1,427 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Kingsmead School full?
- Kingsmead School has capacity for 1,257 pupils and 1,427 on roll (114%), 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 Kingsmead School a faith school?
- No. Kingsmead School has no designated religious character.
- Is Kingsmead School a selective school?
- No. Kingsmead School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Kingsmead School part of an academy trust?
- Kingsmead School is part of JOHN TAYLOR MAT. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Kingsmead School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.1 in 2022/23 and 48.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kingsmead School compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- Kingsmead School ranked 11th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% 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 Kingsmead School's absence rate?
- Kingsmead School's overall absence rate is 8.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kingsmead School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kingsmead 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 2 July 2026.