Bradford Forster Academy Review 2026: Improving Church of England Secondary in Holme Wood

Bradford Forster Academy is a comparatively new 11 to 16 secondary in Holme Wood, serving a mixed intake and operating as part of the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust. Opened in September 2015 in purpose-built accommodation, it has grown quickly into a full five-year secondary with a published capacity of 1,050 pupils.

This is a school in active improvement mode. The most recent graded inspection in February 2025 judged all key areas as Requires Improvement, a step forward from the earlier Inadequate judgement shown in the school’s inspection history. Parents should read that trajectory carefully: there is evidence of raised expectations, improving behaviour for many pupils, and a clearer focus on reading, attendance, and consistent classroom routines. The question for families is whether the pace of improvement, and the current day-to-day experience, aligns with what their child needs now.

A defining feature is how explicitly the school links its culture to its Church of England identity. The published vision frames ambition, respect, growth, and community in faith language, and the weekly rhythm includes collective worship alongside a structured reading element during break. Tutor time is described as including a short reflection each morning, which gives the day a settled start for many pupils and a shared routine across year groups.

Leadership is also part of the story. Gemma Earles is the principal, and the academy appointed a new principal in September 2023. That matters because the school’s public narrative, and the external evaluation, both point to raised expectations and clearer standards since the previous inspection period. At the same time, the trust has advertised for a headteacher with a planned start date of April 2026, which suggests a further leadership transition may be on the horizon. Families considering entry should ask directly how continuity will be managed across the remainder of the academic year and into the next phase of improvement planning.

Pastoral structures have a distinctly faith-inflected layer. Chaplaincy is positioned not only as worship leadership but also as pastoral support, with groups that address practical life issues and topics such as relationships and self-esteem, alongside opportunities to explore faith. This tends to suit families who value a school where moral language, reflection, and service are part of everyday life, while still leaving room for a range of family beliefs and observance.

On GCSE outcomes, the school’s most recent published performance profile is modest and requires context.

Ranked 3,059th in England and 21st in Bradford for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), performance sits below England average, within the lower 40% of schools in England by this measure. The Progress 8 score is -0.54, which indicates that, on average, students made less progress than pupils with similar starting points nationally. The Attainment 8 score is 37, reflecting overall GCSE attainment across a student’s best eight subjects. For families, the practical implication is that GCSE outcomes have been weaker than they should be, and the key question becomes whether the school’s current improvement work is translating into consistently stronger learning across subjects.

There are also indicators around the English Baccalaureate. The average EBacc points score is 3.27, and 13.9% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure. These figures suggest that the combination of subject entry, consistency of teaching, and secure knowledge recall at Key Stage 4 remains a priority.

External evaluation reinforces the same themes. A graded inspection in February 2025 reported that pupils’ achievement at the end of Key Stage 4 remains considerably below England average, while also noting that the gap has narrowed over the last two years. That “direction of travel” point matters, but it should not obscure the current baseline. Families choosing now should weigh the school’s improvement momentum against their child’s appetite for structure, resilience, and the realities of a school still building consistency.

Parents comparing options locally can use the FindMySchool local hub and comparison tools to view the school’s GCSE indicators alongside nearby alternatives, focusing particularly on Progress 8 and the local rank, which often provide a clearer picture than headline judgements alone.

The published curriculum structure is deliberate and highly routinised. The academy describes a five-period day, totalling 25 periods per week. Tutor time sits at the start of each morning, and break is organised with collective worship and a guided reading element, which signals a whole-school attempt to strengthen literacy habits rather than leaving reading to English lessons alone.

The strongest theme in formal evaluation is inconsistency between subjects. In some areas, what pupils should learn is not identified clearly enough and classroom activities are not always the most effective for building durable knowledge. In other subjects, clearer curriculum sequencing supports better lesson design and stronger understanding. For parents, this distinction is important: a child’s experience may vary materially by subject, teacher, and year group, especially while improvement work is still embedding.

Reading is an explicit priority. Form time reading is built into daily routines, and the school describes targeted support for pupils who struggle to read, alongside subject-level use of carefully chosen texts. The critical lever here is impact tracking. When reading interventions are not monitored tightly, it becomes harder to know which pupils are catching up quickly and which need a different approach. Families with children who have significant literacy gaps should ask what screening is used, what intervention looks like week to week, and how progress is measured across a term.

Provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is described as well established in identification, with staff training intended to support pupils in the classroom. A small number of pupils access a bespoke curriculum and are described as receiving high-quality support. The practical issue, again, is consistency across lessons. If your child relies on predictable adaptations, it is worth asking how support is communicated to subject staff, and how the school checks that adjustments happen in every classroom, not only in pockets of strong practice.

Where Students Go Next

As an 11 to 16 school, Bradford Forster Academy’s key exit point is post-16 progression into sixth forms, colleges, apprenticeships, and training pathways. Published destination statistics are not available provided for this review, so it is not appropriate to claim a specific proportion moving into each route.

What can be evidenced is a strong emphasis on structured careers education and employer engagement. The academy describes repeated opportunities for careers encounters from Years 7 to 11, and its careers programme includes events such as an annual careers fair with local post-16 providers, universities, employers, and apprenticeship organisations represented. That matters because, in a school still improving academic outcomes, clear progression planning can be a stabilising force, especially for students who need help translating school effort into realistic next steps.

There is also evidence of targeted aspiration-building activities, including visits and programmes delivered with external partners. The value for families is less about the single event and more about sustained exposure. When students regularly meet providers and employers, they tend to make more informed choices at Year 9 options and Year 11 transition, and they are less likely to drift into unsuitable courses.

A practical suggestion for parents is to ask for the post-16 guidance sequence by year group, including when students receive one-to-one guidance, what work experience looks like, and how the school supports applications for college places and apprenticeships.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Bradford local authority, with applications submitted via the common application form. For September 2026 entry, the published national closing date is 31 October 2025. The school’s published Year 6 transition information also sets out key milestones for that cycle, including the opening of online applications in mid-September 2025 and national allocation day on 2 March 2026.

The planned admissions number for Year 7 entry in September 2026 is 300. For families, that number provides a realistic sense of cohort size, likely subject sets, and the overall scale of the school day.

Demand data for Year 7 applications and offers is not set out provided for this review, so it is not appropriate to claim an applications-per-place ratio here. The school is described as oversubscribed at primary entry routes but that figure relates to a different admissions pathway and should not be treated as a proxy for Year 7 demand.

For families considering a future cycle, the safest assumption is that the key timings repeat annually. Application windows typically open in September and close at the end of October, with open events commonly scheduled early in the autumn term. Parents should rely on the school and local authority for the exact dates for their child’s year.

Pastoral support is framed through both safeguarding practice and the school’s Christian ethos. Pupils are described as having trusted staff members to speak to, and most pupils report feeling safe. Safeguarding arrangements are described as effective in the most recent graded inspection.

Behaviour is a more mixed picture. Expectations have increased and most pupils’ behaviour has improved, with classroom disruption reduced where behaviour systems are applied consistently. The challenge sits with uneven consistency and a minority of pupils whose conduct can still disrupt learning or create discomfort in shared spaces, particularly corridors and social times. This matters for families because it shapes the emotional tone of the day: some children will be able to ignore low-level disruption, while others find it draining.

Attendance is positioned as a major improvement focus, with systems designed to lift attendance rates. The implication for parents is positive if you want a school that will pursue attendance firmly and systematically. It may feel less comfortable for families who have complex medical or anxiety-related attendance issues, although those families can also benefit from a school that coordinates support with external agencies. The school describes working with local charities to support pupils and families, which can be particularly relevant in a community context where barriers to attendance are not always purely motivational.

Enrichment is described as a routine part of the school week, with free clubs and activities offered on most evenings after school. The school’s own inspection evidence also points to a wide range of clubs designed to build on pupils’ talents and interests. What makes this provision useful, when it is implemented well, is its link to attendance, behaviour, and belonging. For some students, the club is the reason they stay in school on a difficult day, and that in turn supports learning.

A distinctive example referenced in formal monitoring commentary is a combined reading and crochet club. That detail matters because it suggests the school is trying to make reading social, practical, and low-pressure, rather than only academic. When pupils associate reading with community, calm, and identity, they are often more willing to practise regularly, which can have long-term benefits for GCSE success across subjects.

Performing arts also appears to have a clear offer, including an after-school drama club and opportunities to perform as part of trust-wide events. For students whose confidence is built through voice, presentation, and teamwork, drama can provide a structured route into improved oracy, which often carries across into English and humanities.

Sport is positioned as both curriculum and partnership. The physical education programme references links with organisations including Bradford Bulls and Unity Boxing, using external expertise to strengthen provision. There is also evidence of a Sports Academy model. The practical implication for families is that sport can be more than a weekly timetable subject. It can become a structured pathway that rewards attendance, commitment, and behaviour as much as raw talent.

Finally, careers-related enrichment is unusually prominent for an 11 to 16 school, with repeated encounters, employer workshops, and provider engagement described across multiple year groups. For students who need help connecting schoolwork to real futures, this can be a meaningful differentiator.

The academy day is clearly set out. Students can arrive from 8.00am, with a free breakfast available from 8.10am to 8.25am, and all students are expected to be in school before 8.25am. Finish times are staggered, with Years 7 to 9 finishing at 2.55pm and Years 10 to 11 at 3.00pm.

As a secondary school, wraparound care is not typically offered in the primary-style sense, but breakfast provision can function as a practical support for working families, as well as a punctuality tool. Parents considering after-school supervision should check the current enrichment timetable and how late clubs run on different days.

• Behaviour consistency still matters day to day. Standards have risen and disruption is reduced in classrooms when systems are applied consistently, but corridor behaviour and the conduct of a minority of pupils can still affect how comfortable some students feel, especially those who are more sensitive to noise and language.

• GCSE outcomes are still below where they need to be. The Progress 8 score of -0.54 and the overall GCSE ranking position in England point to a school still improving academic results. Families should ask what has changed since 2023, and how consistently stronger teaching is now embedded across departments.

• Leadership transition may be approaching. With a headteacher role advertised with a planned April 2026 start, parents should ask how the trust is ensuring stability in behaviour systems, curriculum development, and staff retention through any changeover.

• Alternative provision needs careful scrutiny. The February 2025 inspection report notes use of unregistered alternative provision. Parents of students at risk of off-site placement should ask what safeguards are in place, what quality assurance looks like, and how reintegration is managed.

Bradford Forster Academy is a young secondary serving its community with an explicit Church of England identity and a strong emphasis on routines, reading, attendance, and structured careers education. Academic outcomes remain below England average, but external evaluation and school priorities point to a clear improvement trajectory since the leadership change in September 2023.

Who it suits: families who want a large, structured, faith-aligned secondary with free breakfast provision, developing enrichment, and a visible focus on raising standards. For students who need calm corridors, consistently strong teaching in every subject, or a fully established track record at GCSE, it is sensible to probe hard, visit, and compare options before committing.