Portland School
Uttoxeter Road, Blythe Bridge, Stoke-on-Trent, ST11 9JG
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE SHAW EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Alexis Bull
- Sponsor
- The Shaw Education Trust
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Stoke-on-Trent South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 144
- URN
- 149392
- Local authority
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782882020
About this school
Portland School is a special academy in Stoke-on-Trent. It teaches children aged 3 to 16 and has 144 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Portland School, 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
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
- Inadequate
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Inadequate
- Personal development
- Inadequate
- Leadership and management
- Inadequate
- Safeguarding
- Not effective
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: special measures.
This inspection took place when the school was registered as Portland School and Specialist College (URN 124498).
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 12 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 8% | 6% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 93.0 | 97.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 86.0 | 89.0 |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | 2.2 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | 0.1 |
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 Portland 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 | Stoke-on-Trent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 56.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 23.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 27.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 33.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 114 |
| 2024/25 | 135 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 82.22%
- English as an additional language
- 0.7%
- Overall absence
- 33.12%
- Persistent absence
- 70.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kinetic Academy1.3 miles
Independent schools · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Rowan House School1.5 miles
Special schools
-
Draycott Moor College1.5 miles
Special schools · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Abbey Hill Academy & College1.7 miles
Academies · Stoke-On-Trent
-
Sycamore Meadow Outdoor Learning Centre2.3 miles
Special schools · Stoke-on-Trent
Other schools in Stoke-on-Trent
- Abbey Hill Academy & College Academies
- Alpha Learning Staffordshire Special schools
- Church Lawton School Free Schools
- Cicely Haughton School Academies
- Draycott Moor College Special schools
- Edison Pace School Special schools
- Emerge School Special schools
- Intuition Holistic Education Special schools
- Kemball School Academies
- Manor Abbey School Free Schools
- Merit Hospital School and Medical Pupil Referral Unit Local authority maintained schools
- Newfriars College Other types
Common questions
- What ages does Portland School teach?
- Portland School teaches children aged 3 to 16. It is a special school in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Who is the headteacher of Portland School?
- The headteacher of Portland School is Miss Alexis Bull, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Portland School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Portland 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 Portland School?
- Portland School has 144 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 16.
- Is Portland School full?
- Portland School has capacity for 140 pupils and 144 on roll (103%), 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 Portland School a faith school?
- No. Portland School has no designated religious character.
- Is Portland School part of an academy trust?
- Portland School 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 Portland School have?
- The schools register lists Portland School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Portland School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2023/24 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Portland School's absence rate?
- Portland School's overall absence rate is 33.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Portland School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Portland 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.