Oak Academy, Bournemouth
Oak Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Bournemouth, part of Authentic Education Group Limited. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2018. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 12th-highest of the 12 schools in Bournemouth with published results, and 3,148th of 3,298 across England. It was 64% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2018)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Well below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Oak Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Oak Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 34, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.2 in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; and 47 across England.
26% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 56% in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; and 47% in England.
That is up from 32.5 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.63: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 30.7, against 37.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 6.6 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 18 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Business Studies.
Getting a place at Oak Academy
For September 2026 entry, 82 families put Oak Academy as their first choice and 218 named it as one of their preferences, for 122 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Oak Academy are LeAF Studio (0.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 36.1); The Bourne Academy (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.2); St Aldhelm's Academy (1.5 miles); and St Aldhelm's Academy (1.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 35.6).
Each of them had higher 2026 results than Oak Academy.
LeAF StudioThe Bourne AcademySt Aldhelm's AcademySt Aldhelm's Academy
The trust
Oak Academy is one of 13 schools run by Authentic Education Group Limited, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 37.1 in 2024/25.
What parents say
115 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Oak Academy (as of September 2025): 77% would recommend the school, 81% say their child is happy there and 57% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (82%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (57%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 92 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 69% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 47% to a further education college, 8% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.
Who goes there
48.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Branksome Rail Station, about 2.5 miles away in a straight line.
11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cornerstone Church (w-bound), 280 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Oak Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Oak Academy issued 332 suspensions, 51.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 7 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Oak Academy are Elm Academy (0.2 miles), Heathlands Primary Academy (0.4 miles), Christ The King Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles) and Kinson Academy (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Elm AcademyHeathlands Primary AcademyChrist The King Catholic Primary SchoolKinson Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from November 2018, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's November 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Oak Academy has created a calm, respectful learning environment where behaviour has significantly improved and pupils feel valued. The school provides strong support for reading development and weaker students, while offering a broad range of enrichment activities that pupils enjoy. Teachers and leaders genuinely listen to student feedback and are working hard to raise expectations and prepare young people for adult life.
Key Strengths
- Behaviour is calm and well-managed, with pupils understanding expectations and responding positively to rewards
- Reading support is effective, with quick identification and targeted help for weaker readers
- Broad curriculum now in place with clear progression, and the school is listening to pupils about activities they want
- Attendance monitoring has significantly improved, with both overall and persistent absence falling
- Personal development is strong, with good careers guidance, work experience, and learning about British values and staying safe
Areas for Improvement
- Assessment in lessons is not accurate enough, meaning some pupils repeat work they already know while others struggle without proper support
- The curriculum is not adapted well enough for pupils with SEND to help them learn effectively
- Monitoring systems to check if recent changes are actually working are still developing, so leaders cannot clearly see what's working and what isn't
- Knowledge gaps exist for older pupils who studied the previous curriculum before recent changes
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school considering local context to keep pupils safe, including recent workshops on knife crime.
Extracurricular Activities
Drama, Duke of Edinburgh's Award, chess, coding, podcast clubs, sports, girls' football, work experience
Oak Academy is working to improve after recent curriculum changes and leadership restructuring within the Authentic Education Group. While behaviour has improved and the school is making progress, many changes are still too new to have had full impact.
At a Glance
48.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
115 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -0.95 to -0.63 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 30.8 to 34.0 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 22% to 26% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 34.0 | 26.2% |
| Disadvantaged(42) | - | 30.7 | 21.4% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(42) | - | 37.3 | 31% |
| Boys(45) | - | 33.3 | 22.2% |
| Girls(39) | - | 34.8 | 30.8% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(7) | - | 34.6 | 28.6% |
| Non mobile(78) | - | 33.3 | 24.4% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 92 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
7
Permanent exclusions
1.08%
Exclusion rate
332
Suspensions
51.31%
Suspension rate
95 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 647 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Oak Academy
Term dates
Oak Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Oak Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Oak Academy is in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; for families living there:
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 16
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 13 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is 24 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Oak Academy
Will you get a place at Oak Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Oak Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Oak Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Oak Academy.
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Oak Academy that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Oak Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
64%
Available places
631 pupils
985 places
354 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bournemouth
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bournemouth
Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council
Places available
4,119
Applications
3,624
Got 1st preference
86.4%
Got preferred school
96.9%
All secondary applications across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
139
SEN Support
34
EHC Plans
26.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
647
Total Pupils
341
Boys
306
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
46
Teachers
14.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£53,171
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,888
Per pupil
£5607k
Total funding
£314k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.2%
Overall absence
27.1%
Persistent absence
700
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Oak Academy
Showing 10 of 12 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Oak Academy
What are GCSE results like at Oak Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Oak Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 34. 26% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Oak Academy's Ofsted rating?
Oak Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2018, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for Oak Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Oak Academy is oversubscribed, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Oak Academy?
Oak Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 64% of its 985 places.
How big are the classes at Oak Academy?
Classes at Oak Academy average 23.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Oak Academy?
Oak Academy has around 647 pupils on roll. 48% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Oak Academy?
11.2% of sessions were missed at Oak Academy in 2024/25. 27.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Oak Academy?
Apply through Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's coordinated admissions process, naming Oak Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Oak Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 13 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 3 in a vehicle or otherwise. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is 24 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Oak Academy?
Oak Academy is at Duck Lane, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH11 9JJ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)