St Edward's Church of England Academy, Leek
St Edward's Church of England Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 9 to 13 in Leek, part of St Edward's Church of England Academy Trust, Leek. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in February 2022. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in September 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 148th-highest of the 230 schools in Staffordshire with published results, and 8,234th of 14,452 across England. It was 89% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2022)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Staffordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
St Edward's Church of England Academy in detail
St Edward's Church of England Academy in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, cricket, gymnastics, drama, Lego, art, film and homework club.
The school runs after-school care until 5:50pm.
Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils at St Edward's Church of England Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 76% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 79% and 77% in Staffordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (77% in reading, 71% in maths).
Getting a place at St Edward's Church of England Academy
For September 2024 entry, 1 family put St Edward's Church of England Academy as their first choice and 17 named it as one of their preferences, for 3 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2024 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at St Edward's Church of England Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to St Edward's Church of England Academy are Westwood College (0.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 40.5); Leek High School (1.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 36.1); Churnet View Middle School (1.4 miles, Good); and Endon High School (3.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 53).
Westwood CollegeLeek High SchoolChurnet View Middle SchoolEndon High School
The trust
St Edward's Church of England Academy is run by its own single-school academy trust.
What parents say
125 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Edward's Church of England Academy (as of September 2025): 80% would recommend the school, 82% say their child is happy there and 69% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (87%); the weakest, that they are kept well informed about progress (66%).
Who goes there
15.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 1.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 117 pupils (17.7%) received SEN support and 18 (2.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a moderate learning difficulty.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Cheddleton (Churnet Valley Railway), about 2.7 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Westwood First School (adjacent), 110 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Edward's Church of England Academy stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Edward's Church of England Academy issued 47 suspensions, 6.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to St Edward's Church of England Academy are Westwood First School (0.1 miles), Woodcroft Academy (0.3 miles), St Mary's Catholic Academy (0.5 miles) and All Saints CofE First School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Westwood First SchoolWoodcroft AcademySt Mary's Catholic AcademyAll Saints CofE First School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; 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
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils are happy at school, and they enjoy their lessons. They feel safe. The school takes the approach 'it could happen here'. Pupils say there is always someone to talk to. They behave consistently well and have very positive attitudes to their learning. Pupils live up to the school's statement to 'live and breathe our core values'. These include respect, hope, courage and friendship. This is based on the '10/10 vision' of St John's Gospel, having 'life in all its fullness'.
The school has high expectations for all pupils to succeed. This is achieved for most pupils, including those who find learning difficult and need extra help. Parents and carers are positive about the way the school meets their children's specific needs.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has made rapid improvements under new senior leadership. It has put in place an ambitious curriculum, designed to be well sequenced. As a result, pupils can build their knowledge based on their previous learning. The mathematics schemes of work are sequenced around key concepts and science around 'big ideas'. Leaders promote high-level thinking well across subjects.
All pupils have the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects regularly. In most cases, wherever possible, from Year 5 upwards they are taught by specialists. In subjects such as design and technology, they have specialist facilities.
From Ofsted's September 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Requires Improvement at its February 2022 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development.
Areas Ofsted flagged
Quality of education (Requires Improvement), Leadership & management (Requires Improvement).
At a Glance
15.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
125 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.14%
Exclusion rate
47
Suspensions
6.76%
Suspension rate
16 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 695 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with St Edward's Church of England Academy
Term dates
St Edward's Church of England Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Staffordshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Edward's Church of England Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Edward's Church of England Academy is in Staffordshire; for families living there:
Apply to Staffordshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 2
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 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 Staffordshire is 5 (the median across 457 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 St Edward's Church of England Academy
Will you get a place at St Edward's Church of England Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Edward's Church of England Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Edward's Church of England Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Edward's Church of England Academy.
- Staffordshire publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Edward's Church of England Academy that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Edward's Church of England Academy for 2024 entry.
- How many families in Staffordshire 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
89%
Available places
687 pupils
768 places
81 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Leek
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Leek
Across Staffordshire council
Places available
8,807
Applications
7,681
Got 1st preference
91.9%
Got preferred school
98.5%
All secondary applications across Staffordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
117
SEN Support
18
EHC Plans
20.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
662
Total Pupils
329
Boys
333
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
38
Teachers
17.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£53,486
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,588
Per pupil
£4144k
Total funding
£137k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.3%
Overall absence
14.3%
Persistent absence
701
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
St Edward's Church of England Academy
Questions parents ask about St Edward's Church of England Academy
What are SATs results like at St Edward's Church of England Academy?
Of the pupils at St Edward's Church of England Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 74% reached the expected standard in reading and 76% did so in maths.
What is St Edward's Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?
St Edward's Church of England Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in February 2022, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for St Edward's Church of England Academy?
No fixed boundary. When St Edward's Church of England Academy is oversubscribed, Staffordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Edward's Church of England Academy?
St Edward's Church of England Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 89% of its 768 places.
How big are the classes at St Edward's Church of England Academy?
Classes at St Edward's Church of England Academy average 26.4 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Edward's Church of England Academy?
St Edward's Church of England Academy has around 662 pupils on roll. 16% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Edward's Church of England Academy?
6.3% of sessions were missed at St Edward's Church of England Academy in 2024/25. 14.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Edward's Church of England Academy?
Apply through Staffordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming St Edward's Church of England 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 St Edward's Church of England Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 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 Staffordshire is 5 (the median across 457 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Edward's Church of England Academy?
St Edward's Church of England Academy is at Westwood Road, Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 8DN.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)