The Excel Academy, Stoke-on-Trent

Ofsted's report card from its 30 June 2026 inspection grades The Excel Academy on 6 areas: 5 expected standard and 1 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders have revised the school's approach to attendance."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders have an accurate understanding of the quality of the curriculum and teaching in the school."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders' commitment to inclusion is characterised by an ambition for vulnerable pupils to have access to equity in their curriculum and experiences."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders have a clear purpose and high aspirations for every pupil."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have created a personal development programme that meets the statutory content for personal, social, health and economic education."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Over time, pupils' attainment and progress at the end of key stage 4 have been below where they should be."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that lessons consistently address misconceptions and gaps in learning to support the long-term recall of knowledge"; "Leaders should embed their current work to further enhance pupils' learning and raise pupils' attainment and progress"; "Leaders should ensure that their strategies to support attendance continue to have a positive impact for all pupils".

In 2026, pupils at The Excel Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.4 in Stoke-on-Trent and 47 across England.

37% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 36% in Stoke-on-Trent and 47% in England.

That is up from 37.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.57: 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 34, against 43.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 9.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 271 families put The Excel Academy as their first choice and 540 named it as one of their preferences, for 238 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 44 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Excel Academy are Birches Head Academy (0.5 miles, Inadequate, Attainment 8 33); Haywood Academy (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 35.4); Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent (2.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.2); and St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy (2.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.3).

The Excel Academy's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

The Excel Academy is one of 6 schools run by Alpha Academies Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 223 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 57% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

34.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 12.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (74%), Mixed (8%) and Asian (7%).

In 2026, 207 pupils (17.5%) received SEN support and 32 (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.

The nearest railway station is Platform 1, about 2.5 miles away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Berwick (opposite), 190 metres away.

In 2024/25, The Excel Academy issued 465 suspensions, 38.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Excel Academy are Holden Lane Academy (0.3 miles), New Ford Academy (0.5 miles), Smallthorne Primary Academy (0.7 miles) and Norton-Le-Moors Primary Academy (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.