The Friary School
Eastern Avenue, Lichfield, WS13 7EW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PRIMITAS LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Drury
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Lichfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,250
- Pupils on roll
- 1,255
- URN
- 146907
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01543267400
About this school
The Friary School is a secondary academy in Lichfield. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,255 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 20 March 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 195 | 206 | 198 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.5 | 57.6 | 57.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.72 +0.52 to +0.92 | +0.86 +0.67 to +1.06 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 62.1% | 65.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 82% | 81.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 64.6% | 61.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.1 |
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 The Friary 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 | 56.5 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 57.6 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 57.8 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,228 |
| 2023/24 | 1,232 |
| 2024/25 | 1,220 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Friary School compares
The Friary School ranked 2nd of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57.8 | 6.4% | 19.9% | 1,255 | — |
| Nether Stowe School | 38.7 | 12.4% | 36.5% | 692 | 1.0 miles |
| King Edward VI School | 52.2 | 5.5% | 13.3% | 1,609 | 1.6 miles |
| Chase Terrace Academy | 44.3 | 9.6% | 22.9% | 1,172 | 3.7 miles |
| Erasmus Darwin Academy | 47.8 | 7.3% | 18.9% | 1,112 | 4.1 miles |
| Brownhills Ormiston Academy | 37.1 | 9.4% | 50.8% | 778 | 4.5 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)
- 19.92%
- English as an additional language
- 8%
- Overall absence
- 6.36%
- Persistent absence
- 15.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Nether Stowe School1.0 miles
Secondary · Lichfield
-
King Edward VI School1.6 miles
Secondary · Lichfield
-
Chase Terrace Academy3.7 miles
Secondary · Burntwood
-
Erasmus Darwin Academy4.1 miles
Secondary · Burntwood
-
Brownhills Ormiston Academy4.5 miles
Secondary · Walsall
Other schools in Lichfield
- King Edward VI School Secondary
- Nether Stowe School Secondary
- Anna Seward Primary Primary
- Chadsmead Primary Academy Primary
- Charnwood Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church CofE (C) Primary School Primary
- Five Spires Academy Primary
- Fradley Park Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Greysbrooke Primary School Primary
- Greywood Primary Academy Primary
- Scotch Orchard Primary School Primary
- SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Friary School teach?
- The Friary School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Lichfield.
- Who is the headteacher of The Friary School?
- The headteacher of The Friary School is Mr Mark Drury, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Friary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Friary 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 The Friary School?
- The Friary School has 1,255 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Friary School full?
- The Friary School has capacity for 1,250 pupils and 1,255 on roll (100%), 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 The Friary School a faith school?
- No. The Friary School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Friary School a selective school?
- No. The Friary School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Friary School?
- The Friary School is part of PRIMITAS LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Friary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56.5 in 2022/23 and 57.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Friary School rank locally?
- The Friary School ranked 2nd of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Friary School's absence rate?
- The Friary School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Friary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Friary 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 10 July 2026.