Erasmus Darwin Academy Review 2026: A structured, ambitious 11 to 18 academy with a strong local reputation

Erasmus Darwin Academy is a large, mixed secondary and sixth form serving Burntwood and surrounding areas, with an established emphasis on orderly routines, clear expectations, and breadth across the curriculum. The latest Ofsted inspection, carried out in May 2023, confirmed the academy continues to be Good.

Academic performance sits in a familiar, mid-range England profile at GCSE, paired with a Progress 8 score that suggests students make above-average progress from their starting points. At sixth form, outcomes are weaker against England benchmarks, which matters for families choosing post 16 routes locally. The academy’s distinctive organising idea is its vertical House system, which deliberately mixes year groups for daily tutor time, with Ascot, Twickenham and Wimbledon forming the core pastoral units for most of Years 7 to 10.

The academy’s culture is anchored in explicit routines and a strong behaviour curriculum. The tone is purposeful rather than informal; lessons are designed to run without low-level disruption, and students are expected to meet consistent standards for conduct and focus.

Pastoral care is intentionally structured. The House system is more than a badge on a blazer; it shapes daily experience through mixed-age tutor groups (Years 7 to 10), a morning tutor period, and House-led tracking of progress and wellbeing. The academy explains the rationale plainly: smaller, human-scale units so students feel known and supported, with siblings typically placed in the same House to simplify family communication. Each House has its own House Leader and Student Support Manager, with a House Office acting as the practical hub for daily issues and longer-term support.

Alongside pastoral routines, the academy presents a clear values framework. Its headline motto is “Hard Work, High Aspirations, Limitless Opportunities”, and the wider vision statement links that to high expectations in both learning and conduct, plus a strong emphasis on personal development and community engagement.

Leadership is stable at the headteacher level. The current headteacher is Mr Phil Walklate. (A specific appointment date is not published in the accessible official sources reviewed.)

At GCSE level, Erasmus Darwin Academy is ranked 1928th in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 1st locally in Burntwood. That England position places outcomes in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), a useful shorthand for families comparing across the wider area.

The academy’s Attainment 8 score is 50.3, and its Progress 8 score is 0.27, indicating above-average progress from Key Stage 2 starting points. (Progress 8 is centred around 0, so positive scores are generally favourable.) The Ebacc measure included shows 7% achieving grade 5 or above in the Ebacc element reported.

For sixth form, the A-level picture is less strong. The sixth form is ranked 2077th in England for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 2nd locally in Burntwood. This sits below England average overall (bottom 40% by percentile band). The proportion of A-level entries achieving A* to B is 29.52%, compared with an England average of 47.2%.

Taken together, the pattern is clear: GCSE outcomes are broadly solid and supported by positive progress, while sixth form outcomes require closer scrutiny by families weighing post 16 options.

Curriculum ambition is a defining feature. Subject planning is designed to be coherent, with leaders reviewing and updating the curriculum and aiming for breadth and challenge across year groups. In some areas, the stated ambition goes beyond national curriculum minimums, with examples given in geography where content is used to challenge misconceptions through detailed study.

The curriculum focus also links to the academy’s approach to English Baccalaureate uptake. Leaders are working to place the Ebacc more centrally, including supporting more students to study modern foreign languages through curriculum redesign. For families, the practical implication is that language learning and broader academic breadth may be increasingly visible across the lower school timetable, even for students who might otherwise avoid it.

Teaching is described as effective for most students, supported by good subject knowledge. Where improvement is still needed, the key issue is consistency of checking understanding. When explanations or checks are not precise enough, gaps can persist and make later learning harder. This is a familiar quality marker to explore at open events: ask how departments check knowledge securely, how misconceptions are identified, and what happens when a student falls behind in a topic sequence.

Reading is treated as a whole-school priority, including reading time for all students and library-based reading lessons in Years 7 and 8. The academy also flags that support for weaker readers is an ongoing development area, with plans such as phonics training for key staff.

For post 16 and post 18 destinations, the dataset provides a useful snapshot of what leavers do after sixth form. For the 2023 to 2024 leavers cohort (98 students), 43% progressed to university, 15% started apprenticeships, 37% entered employment, and 1% moved into further education. This suggests a mixed set of pathways, with a meaningful proportion taking non-university routes, which can be a good fit for students who want work-focused progression.

Oxbridge volumes are small, as is typical for many comprehensive sixth forms. In the measurement period captured, there were two Cambridge applications recorded, with one place accepted.

The implication for families is that this sixth form can support ambitious academic routes for individual students, but its broader outcomes profile points to a sixth form that needs careful matching to the student. If your child is aiming for a highly competitive university course, ask directly about subject entry requirements, how academic support is organised, and how the sixth form builds independent study habits from Year 12.

Erasmus Darwin Academy is a non-selective academy within Staffordshire’s coordinated admissions system for secondary transfer. The published admission number for Year 7 entry is 185.

For September 2026 entry, Staffordshire’s secondary application closing date is 31 October 2025, with decisions issued on 02 March 2026 for online applicants. Late applications are handled through the local authority process after the closing date.

The academy’s admissions page also makes the route clear: applications are made to the local authority where the child lives, even if the school is in a different authority area. Sixth form admissions are handled through the academy’s published sixth form admissions materials.

Open events follow the typical Staffordshire pattern of early autumn. For the September 2026 intake cycle, Staffordshire listed an open evening on Thursday 02 October 2025 at 4:30pm. Dates move annually, so treat this as a timing indicator and check the academy’s current calendar for the next cycle.

Because the dataset does not provide a last distance offered figure for this school, families should avoid assuming that living nearby guarantees admission. If distance priority is central to your decision, FindMySchool’s Map Search tool is the most practical way to model likely eligibility once the local authority publishes distance patterns for the current cycle.

Pastoral support is House-led, with daily tutor time and a clear expectation that students are known well by staff. The House Office structure (House Leader plus Student Support Manager) is designed to address both day-to-day issues and longer-term support needs, while the move to year-group tutor structures from Year 11 onwards reflects the different pressures of GCSE and post 16 study.

Safeguarding arrangements are effective. In practical terms, this is reinforced through regular staff training, clear reporting routes, and a personal development curriculum that covers staying safe.

Students who need additional support for special educational needs are addressed within the wider curriculum model, with adaptation expected across teaching rather than relying on one-off interventions. Families considering the academy for a child with SEND should focus questions on how teachers adapt within lessons, what information is routinely shared with staff, and how progress is tracked across a term.

Erasmus Darwin Academy puts substantial emphasis on learning beyond lessons, particularly through educational visits and structured enrichment that links to curriculum and careers.

A clear example is the scale of educational visits described by the academy. It reports an average of over 70 educational visits planned each academic year, including curriculum trips (for example the Peak District, the Jurassic Coast and London) and longer travel opportunities such as Iceland, Italy and New York. The implication is that students who learn best through concrete experiences, fieldwork, and real-world context are likely to find the school’s enrichment programme motivating, especially in humanities and geography-linked content.

The academy also highlights large participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, offering Bronze, Silver and Gold, with over 70 students enrolled across the three levels each year. For families, that matters because DofE is time-intensive; it rewards reliability and self-management. In a school organised around routines and conduct expectations, DofE can also reinforce leadership within Houses.

There are also major trips with a strong take-up. The academy references an annual ski visit, growing from 20 students in its first year to over 60, with destinations including Austria or Italy. It also references an overseas visit to Paris including Disneyland Paris. These are not small add-ons; they signal a school that expects and supports students to take part in wider opportunities, with the usual practical considerations around cost, timing, and student readiness.

Careers education is another organised strand rather than a one-off event. The academy sets an expectation of employer encounters at least once per year and describes structured support through transition points, including independent careers adviser availability on key days and regular careers activities. For sixth form students, this kind of structured programme can be particularly valuable if a student is considering apprenticeships or employment routes, where application quality and interview practice are critical.

This is a state-funded academy with no tuition fees. Families should still budget for the usual secondary costs such as uniform, equipment, and optional trips.

Morning routines matter here. Public information for start-of-year arrangements confirms that the usual daily arrival expectation is 8:35am. (Published finish times are not clearly stated in the accessible pages reviewed, so families should confirm end-of-day arrangements directly, particularly for after-school activities and transport planning.)

Transport and local traffic management are a practical consideration on Pool Road and nearby parking areas, with school communications historically reminding families to respect road markings and local business spaces at drop-off.

• Sixth form outcomes are a weaker point. The A-level ranking sits below England average overall, and the A* to B percentage is lower than the England benchmark. This does not rule out success for individual students, but it does make subject choice, entry requirements, and study support worth probing carefully.

• Consistency of checking understanding is an improvement focus. Where teachers do not identify gaps precisely, misconceptions can linger and make later topics harder. Ask how departments check secure knowledge, especially in maths and sciences where knowledge builds cumulatively.

• Reading support is still developing for weaker readers. Whole-school reading time and library reading lessons are in place, but systems for weaker readers were identified as needing stronger implementation. If your child has literacy needs, ask about screening, targeted support, and how progress is reviewed across a term.

• Overseas trips and large enrichment programmes can create pressure to participate. The offer is strong, but families should think early about affordability, timing, and whether their child benefits from travel-based enrichment or prefers local clubs and structured routines.

Erasmus Darwin Academy is a disciplined, curriculum-led school with a clear pastoral structure and a meaningful commitment to enrichment, particularly educational visits and Duke of Edinburgh. GCSE outcomes are broadly solid with positive progress indicators, and the House system provides a coherent framework for support through Years 7 to 10. The main caveat is sixth form performance, which requires careful match to the student’s aims and preferred pathways. Best suited to families wanting a structured, expectations-led secondary school in the Burntwood area, especially for students who respond well to routines and benefit from a strong enrichment offer.