Five Acres High School Review 2026: Reading-led routines and strong progress in the Forest of Dean

A clear daily rhythm underpins life at Five Acres High School. Tutor time is built around structured reading, followed by a six-period day with a dedicated DEAR session (Drop Everything And Read) and optional after-school clubs that run through to 4pm.

Academically, the school’s GCSE profile is defined by strong progress. A Progress 8 score of 0.77 indicates students, on average, achieve substantially above expectations compared with pupils with similar starting points nationally. In FindMySchool’s proprietary GCSE rankings (based on official data), Five Acres ranks 1,236th in England and 1st in the Coleford area, which places it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

This is a state secondary for students aged 11 to 16 with no tuition fees. It sits within Gloucestershire’s coordinated admissions arrangements for Year 7 entry and is part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust, which shapes governance and admissions oversight.

Five Acres’ published values are explicit and consistently reinforced: Ambition, Confidence, Creativity, Respect, and Determination. The language is direct and practical, with strong expectations around uniform and conduct and an emphasis on students acting as ambassadors in the local community.

Reading is not treated as an optional extra. The day structure, the library offer, and the school’s wider reading challenges point to a deliberate attempt to make literacy part of identity rather than a bolt-on intervention. The Tutor Time Reading Programme and daily DEAR time are positioned as routines that normalise quiet concentration, sustained attention, and informed discussion.

There is also a strong “wider life” framework, but it is organised around participation and character development rather than headline prestige. Students can join a rolling timetable of academies and societies that run at lunchtime and after school, and there are clear pathways for leadership roles such as student ambassadors and student leadership meetings.

Leadership is stable and clearly signposted. Mr Simon Phelps is the headteacher, and he has been in post since 2020.

Five Acres is a secondary school without a sixth form, so the academic picture centres on GCSE measures. In FindMySchool’s proprietary GCSE rankings (based on official data), it is ranked 1,236th in England and 1st in Coleford. That ranking sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is a helpful shorthand for families comparing broadly similar local options.

The school’s Progress 8 score is 0.77, a strong indicator that students make well above average progress across eight subjects from their starting points. This is often the most revealing measure for parents, because it focuses on improvement across the cohort rather than just raw attainment.

On attainment, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 49.1. In the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) suite, the average EBacc point score is 4.56, and 27.2% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above across EBacc subjects. These details suggest the curriculum supports both a mainstream academic pathway and a practical focus on ensuring as many students as possible reach secure passes, rather than chasing a narrow top-end profile.

Curriculum intent is framed around subject “Big Ideas”, with each department identifying the key concepts that students are expected to master, alongside a wider knowledge hinterland that supports depth and context. The implication for families is a curriculum that is planned for long-term understanding, not just short-term assessment performance.

Mathematics is identified as a particular strength in formal external review, with an emphasis on revisiting prior learning to build reasoning and problem-solving over time. That matters for students who benefit from systematic explanation and frequent structured practice, especially in the lead-in to GCSE.

Reading, again, is the defining pedagogy thread. A daily DEAR session is timetabled for all students, and tutor time reading is treated as a whole-school routine rather than a targeted intervention for a subset of pupils. The school also publishes structured reading challenges through its canon lists, linking sustained reading to recognition through its character awards.

Support for students with special educational needs and disabilities is positioned as curriculum access first, with students studying the same curriculum as their peers. The practical question for parents is consistency of classroom scaffolding, since external review highlights that support is not equally strong in every lesson for every pupil who needs it.

As an 11 to 16 school, Five Acres’ “next steps” are about strong GCSE outcomes, informed choices at 16, and practical preparation for post-16 pathways. Careers education is explicitly planned from Year 7 to Year 11, and the school states that all students receive a careers interview around the end of Year 10 or the start of Year 11, with an action plan to support decision-making.

The careers programme is structured around recognised Gatsby Benchmarks and supported by an online platform (Unifrog), alongside employer encounters, workshops, and mock interviews. For families, the key implication is that post-16 preparation is designed as a staged programme rather than a last-minute Year 11 scramble.

Families weighing routes after Year 11 should expect a mix of sixth form, further education, and apprenticeship options. The school’s stated approach is to ensure students understand technical and academic pathways, including direct employer contact and encounters with further and higher education providers.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Gloucestershire’s admissions process and uses the Common Application Form submitted to a child’s home local authority. For September 2026 entry, the application deadline is 31 October 2025, and the school’s Published Admission Number is 180.

If the school is oversubscribed, the published priority order begins with children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, then looked-after and previously looked-after children, followed by exceptional medical or social need (with supporting evidence), children of qualifying staff, siblings, and finally distance.

The policy also confirms a Year 7 waiting list is held until 31 December, and that an independent appeal deadline applies for September 2026 entry (received by Friday 17 April 2026 to be heard by Monday 22 June 2026).

Practical tip: if distance is likely to matter for your family, use FindMySchool’s Map Search tool to check your precise home-to-school distance and compare it with past cut-offs where they are published for your local authority area.

Pastoral structures are clearly signposted on the school site. The safeguarding team is published by name and role, including a Designated Safeguarding Lead and deputy DSL roles, and there is an identified mental health lead within the safeguarding structure. For parents, the value here is clarity about routes of escalation and who holds responsibility.

Beyond safeguarding, the school’s routines are designed to reduce low-level disruption and support calm classrooms. In external review, students describe bullying as uncommon and report that issues are dealt with promptly when raised.

A further pastoral element is the structured academic support around Year 11. The school publishes a model of daily, timetabled revision support through Period 6, running 3pm to 4pm, designed to create consistent study time with subject specialists. This can be a significant advantage for students who struggle to revise independently at home, although it does affect end-of-day logistics.

The co-curricular programme is broad and unusually specific for a state 11 to 16 school, with a termly timetable of academies and societies that includes both mainstream and niche options. The mix matters, because it allows different student profiles to find their “place”, whether that is performance, competition, creativity, or practical skill.

Examples from the published academies and societies menu include Pride Club, Eco Club, Chess Club and Chess Tournament, Crochet Society, Science Magazine Society, Poetry by Heart, Equestrian Society, Lego Club, Gardening Club, and a Magistrates Mock Trial activity. There are also music pathways such as Acapella, Junior Rock Band, Senior Rock Band, and School Production rehearsals.

Outdoor education is a defined pillar rather than an occasional trip. The school offers both the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Ten Tors Challenges for Year 9 and Year 10 students, which signals a sustained commitment to resilience, planning, and teamwork.

Sport and physical activity are part of the wider-life offer, and the school’s clubs menu indicates regular provision across activities such as rounders, softball, athletics, and cricket at Key Stage 3 level.

The published school day begins with optional interventions from 8:00am, line-up shortly after 8:30am, then five main periods for most year groups. There is a timetabled DEAR reading slot in the afternoon, and the core day ends at 3:00pm, with after-school clubs and homework club running 3:00pm to 4:00pm. Year 11 also has a Period 6 running 3:00pm to 4:00pm.

For families planning transport, the most important practical consideration is the 4:00pm finish for some students, particularly in Year 11, and what that means for buses, lifts, and after-school supervision. The school’s catering information indicates breakfast provision is available before the main day begins, which can support students arriving early.

• Year 11 day length. The additional 3:00pm to 4:00pm provision can be a real academic support, but it creates a longer day and can complicate transport home for students who rely on fixed bus schedules.

• Consistency of SEND classroom support. The curriculum is designed to include students with SEND, but formal review highlights that support is not consistently effective in every classroom, which can affect how confidently some students access learning.

• Literacy across subjects. Reading culture is a clear whole-school strength, yet the improvement focus highlights the importance of developing subject-specific writing and communication skills across the curriculum. Families with students who struggle with extended writing should ask how this is taught and practised beyond English lessons.

• No sixth form. Students will need to make a post-16 move after Year 11. The careers programme is designed to support this, but families should still plan early for travel, course mix, and pastoral fit in the next setting.

Five Acres High School combines clear behavioural and academic routines with a strong progress story at GCSE, alongside an unusually detailed wider-life offer for an 11 to 16 state school. It suits families who want a structured day, a strong reading-led culture, and practical preparation for post-16 pathways, including technical routes as well as sixth form. The main decision point is fit: students who respond well to routine and explicit expectations are likely to benefit most, while those needing highly consistent in-class SEND scaffolding should probe carefully on how support is delivered lesson to lesson.