St James Academy
St James's Road, Dudley, DY1 3JE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- DUDLEY ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Moore
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Dudley Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Dudley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 867
- URN
- 144657
- Local authority
- Dudley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01384685200
About this school
St James Academy is a secondary academy in Dudley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 867 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St James 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 125 | 163 | 153 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.4 | 38.1 | 36.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.03 -0.24 to +0.30 | -0.11 -0.34 to +0.12 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 38.7% | 37.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 54.6% | 47.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 26% | 35% | 37.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 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 St James 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 | Dudley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 38.4 | 35.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.1 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 36.8 | 34.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 816 |
| 2023/24 | 856 |
| 2024/25 | 859 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James Academy compares
St James Academy ranked 18th of 18 secondary schools in Dudley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36.8 | 11.5% | 51% | 867 | — |
| Bishop Milner Catholic College | 45.9 | 8.2% | 28.4% | 798 | 0.7 miles |
| Pegasus Academy | 44.4 | 8.8% | 46.2% | 697 | 0.8 miles |
| The Link Academy | 40.4 | 9.8% | 50.9% | 1,013 | 1.4 miles |
| Beacon Hill Academy | 41 | 11.2% | 40.8% | 1,117 | 1.6 miles |
| Ellowes Hall Sports College | 43.1 | 9.3% | 28.5% | 1,038 | 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)
- 50.99%
- English as an additional language
- 34.7%
- Overall absence
- 11.51%
- Persistent absence
- 35.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bishop Milner Catholic College0.7 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
Pegasus Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
The Link Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
Beacon Hill Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
Ellowes Hall Sports College1.9 miles
Secondary · Dudley
Other schools in Dudley
St James Academy ranks 8th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Dudley.
- Beacon Hill Academy Secondary
- Bishop Milner Catholic College Secondary
- Ellowes Hall Sports College Secondary
- Pegasus Academy Secondary
- The Crestwood School Secondary
- The Dormston School Secondary
- The Link Academy Secondary
- Netherton Park Nursery School Nursery
- Alder Coppice Primary School Primary
- Beechwood Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blowers Green Primary School Primary
- Cotwall End Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St James Academy teach?
- St James Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Dudley.
- Who is the headteacher of St James Academy?
- The headteacher of St James Academy is Mr Ian Moore, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St James Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James 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 St James Academy?
- St James Academy has 867 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St James Academy full?
- St James Academy has capacity for 900 pupils and 867 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St James Academy a faith school?
- No. St James Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is St James Academy a selective school?
- No. St James Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St James Academy part of an academy trust?
- St James Academy is part of DUDLEY ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St James Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.4 in 2022/23 and 36.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St James Academy compare with other schools in Dudley?
- St James Academy ranked 18th of 18 secondary schools in Dudley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St James Academy's absence rate?
- St James Academy's overall absence rate is 11.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James 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 10 July 2026.