Orchard Mead Academy
Keyham Lane West, Leicester, LE5 1RT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE MEAD EDUCATIONAL TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Gary Aldred
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Mead Educational Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Leicester East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,007
- URN
- 144629
- Local authority
- Leicester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01162413371
About this school
Orchard Mead Academy is a secondary academy in Leicester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,007 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Orchard Mead 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
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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- 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 | 226 | 228 | 224 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.6 | 37.0 | 38.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.61 -0.82 to -0.39 | -0.69 -0.89 to -0.48 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 26% | 27.6% | 35.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 44% | 48.2% | 49.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 48% | 53.5% | 7.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
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 Orchard Mead 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 | Leicester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 34.6 | 40.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37 | 42.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.9 | 46.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,121 |
| 2023/24 | 1,086 |
| 2024/25 | 1,045 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Orchard Mead Academy compares
Orchard Mead Academy ranked 16th of 19 secondary schools in Leicester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.9 | 11.3% | 39.6% | 1,007 | — |
| St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy | 54.5 | 6.7% | 19.5% | 1,167 | 1.8 miles |
| The City of Leicester College | 49.1 | 7.5% | 35.5% | 1,499 | 1.9 miles |
| Judgemeadow Community College | 46.7 | 7.8% | 24.7% | 975 | 2.2 miles |
| Crown Hills Community College | 47.4 | 6.2% | 26.3% | 1,493 | 2.3 miles |
| Soar Valley College | 51.5 | 5.4% | 30.5% | 1,564 | 2.3 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 report2 June 2026
- 8 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 39.62%
- English as an additional language
- 44.6%
- Overall absence
- 11.34%
- Persistent absence
- 34.01%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
The City of Leicester College1.9 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Judgemeadow Community College2.2 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Crown Hills Community College2.3 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Soar Valley College2.3 miles
Secondary · Leicester
Other schools in Leicester
Orchard Mead Academy ranks 29th of the 33 ranked secondary schools in Leicester.
- Babington Academy Secondary
- Beauchamp College Secondary
- Beaumont Leys School Secondary
- Bosworth Academy Secondary
- Brockington College Secondary
- Brook Mead Academy Secondary
- Brookvale Groby Learning Campus Secondary
- Castle Mead Academy Secondary
- Crown Hills Community College Secondary
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Fullhurst Community College Secondary
- Gartree High School Secondary
Recorded changes at this school
Previous headteacher: Miss Subrina Johal (until August 2026).
- Headteacher changed from Miss Subrina Johal to Mr Gary Aldred recorded 24 Aug 2026
Common questions
- What ages does Orchard Mead Academy teach?
- Orchard Mead Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Leicester.
- Who is the headteacher of Orchard Mead Academy?
- The headteacher of Orchard Mead Academy is Mr Gary Aldred, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Orchard Mead Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Orchard Mead 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 Orchard Mead Academy?
- Orchard Mead Academy has 1,007 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Orchard Mead Academy full?
- Orchard Mead Academy has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,007 on roll (84%), 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 Orchard Mead Academy a faith school?
- No. Orchard Mead Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Orchard Mead Academy a selective school?
- No. Orchard Mead Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Orchard Mead Academy part of an academy trust?
- Orchard Mead Academy is part of THE MEAD EDUCATIONAL TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Orchard Mead Academy have?
- The schools register lists Orchard Mead Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Orchard Mead Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.6 in 2022/23 and 38.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Orchard Mead Academy compare with other schools in Leicester?
- Orchard Mead Academy ranked 16th of 19 secondary schools in Leicester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Orchard Mead Academy's absence rate?
- Orchard Mead Academy's overall absence rate is 11.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Orchard Mead Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Orchard Mead 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 24 August 2026.