The King's Academy, Middlesbrough

Ofsted's report card from its 19 May 2026 inspection grades The King's Academy on 7 areas: 5 expected standard and 2 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 made attendance a clear priority."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Inclusion sits at the heart of this school and shapes daily life for every pupil."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Following a period of turbulence, leaders have set a new culture built on belonging, inclusion and high expectations."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have built a personal development programme that reflects the school's values and the needs of the community."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders provide clear direction for the sixth form."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Outcomes in national assessments at the end of Year 11 are not where they need to be."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Teaching is mixed in its effectiveness."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that all subjects embed systematic retrieval, explicit vocabulary teaching and precise checking of understanding, so that pupils secure the knowledge they need to progress"; "Leaders should ensure that improvements in curriculum delivery lead to improved outcomes across all subjects and pupil groups"; "Leaders should strengthen the consistency of behaviour expectations and the support provided to pupils, so that behaviour and attitudes improve for all".

In 2026, pupils at The King's Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.6 in Middlesbrough and 47 across England.

42% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 38% in Middlesbrough and 47% in England.

That is up from 37.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.4: pupils made 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 32.4, against 50.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 18 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 220 families put The King's Academy as their first choice and 661 named it as one of their preferences, for 216 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 17 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The King's Academy are Trinity Catholic College (1.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 42.7); Outwood Academy Acklam (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.7); Acklam Grange School (2.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.8); and Nunthorpe School & Sixth Form (2.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 44.2).

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

The King's Academy is one of 5 schools run by Emmanuel Schools Foundation, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.9 in 2024/25.

Of the 238 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 44% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

Of the 75 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 47% went on to university or other higher education, 8% to apprenticeships and 20% into work. 21% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

36.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 6.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (83%) and Asian (5%).

In 2026, 231 pupils (16.7%) received SEN support and 133 (9.6%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The King's Academy has a resourced provision (89 places, 78 pupils on roll) and a SEN unit (75 places, 70 pupils on roll) for visual impairment, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties and severe learning difficulties.

The King's Academy had 109 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Marton Station, about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The King's Academy (s bound), 170 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The King's Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 234 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Middlesbrough (532).

In 2024/25, The King's Academy issued 528 suspensions, 37.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 12 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The King's Academy are Sunnyside Academy (0.3 miles), St Gerard's RC Primary School (0.5 miles), St Augustine's Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles) and Rose Wood Academy (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.