Finham Park 2 Review 2026: Oversubscribed Coventry secondary with a clear pastoral structure

Finham Park 2 is a state-funded secondary and sixth form serving Coventry, with a stated focus on high expectations, strong routines, and a simple values set: Pride, Respect and Responsibility. The school opened in 2015 and forms part of the Finham Park Multi-Academy Trust.

The most recent Ofsted inspection (28 to 29 November 2023) found the school continues to be Good, and confirmed safeguarding arrangements are effective.

For families weighing it up, the headlines are straightforward. GCSE outcomes sit around the middle of England performance overall by FindMySchool ranking, while sixth form A-level outcomes are weaker by the same benchmark. Admissions are competitive, with 486 applications for 180 Year 7 places in the most recent published admissions data.

Finham Park 2 leans into clarity and consistency. The school’s public messaging repeatedly comes back to high expectations, uniform standards, and routines that reduce friction in the day. That comes through in the way the school describes its rules and the role of tutor time and daily habits, with a strong emphasis on being ready to learn.

Pastoral organisation is unusually explicit, because the school uses a Vertical College System. Pupils are assigned to one of four colleges (Northgate, Eastgate, Southgate, Westgate), and tutor groups mix year groups so that older pupils can support younger ones and model the routines of secondary life. The school frames this as a deliberate community mechanism rather than a bolt-on mentoring scheme.

The inspection evidence aligns with that intent. Relationships are described as warm and respectful, with a purposeful feel in lessons and calm, orderly movement at social times. Those are not cosmetic claims, they are linked to an explicit behaviour baseline and quick intervention when disruption appears.

A final cultural marker is the school’s outward-facing programmes and identity. The website highlights membership of the Mandarin Excellence Programme, UNESCO Associated Schools Network membership, and an International School Award. For parents, that signals a school willing to build a broader profile beyond the local area, particularly around languages and international links.

This section uses the FindMySchool rankings and metrics provided for the school.

GCSE outcomes (most recent published data)

• Ranked 1999th in England and 12th in Coventry for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This reflects solid performance, in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

• Attainment 8 score: 42.6.

• Progress 8 score: -0.25, which indicates pupils make below-average progress from their starting points overall.

• EBacc average point score: 3.94, compared with an England figure of 4.08.

A helpful way to interpret this mix is that the school’s overall GCSE picture is broadly typical for England on attainment, but progress is a key improvement lever. When progress is negative, it often points to inconsistency between departments, attendance effects, or gaps for particular groups, rather than an across-the-board issue with ambition.

A-level outcomes (sixth form)

• Ranked 2114th in England and 21st in Coventry for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This places outcomes below the England average overall.

• Grade distribution: 3.77% A*, 10.38% A, 13.21% B, and 27.36% A* to B.

• England averages: 23.6% A* to A, 47.2% A* to B.

The implication for families is that the sixth form should be evaluated subject-by-subject and pathway-by-pathway, not as a blanket continuation of Year 11. The school does publish entry requirements and offers guidance meetings for applicants, which can help students choose a realistic programme that matches prior attainment.

Curriculum intent is described as ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, with policies designed to improve how pupils learn and remember. In practice, lessons are structured around clear explanations and deliberate checking of prior knowledge. One concrete example is the consistent use of short retrieval activities at the start of lessons to assess what pupils know before moving on.

There is also a visible technical and practical strand in the school’s direction. Inspection activity included a subject deep dive in design and technology, and external reporting on recent site investment links the school’s development plans to strengthening specialist teaching spaces and broadening curriculum options.

Reading is the clearest stated development area. The school has begun building support for weaker readers and promotes reading through tutor time, but the inspection evidence indicates that not all pupils read widely and regularly yet. For parents, that is worth translating into a simple question: how is reading assessed and supported for your child’s starting point, especially if they arrive with gaps.

Because the school does not publish a Russell Group breakdown or a detailed destinations count on its public pages, the most reliable picture comes from the provided destination data and the Oxbridge application counts.

For the 2023 to 2024 leavers cohort (cohort size 38), 66% progressed to university, 5% to apprenticeships, 13% to employment, and 3% to further education.

Alongside that general destinations pattern, the school recorded 3 Oxbridge applications, resulting in 1 offer and 1 acceptance in the same measurement period. That is a small number, but it does indicate that the pipeline exists for suitably qualified students aiming at the most competitive routes.

The practical implication is that ambition is feasible, but it is likely to be concentrated among a small group of students with the right grades and support. Parents considering sixth form should ask how academic mentoring, extension, and application support is delivered for high-tariff destinations and for vocational or apprenticeship pathways.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Coventry City Council

For children starting secondary school in September 2026, the application window opened 1 September 2025 and closed 31 October 2025, with the national offer date listed as 2 March 2026 for on-time applications. Open evenings are typically in September and October.

Finham Park 2’s published admission number for Year 7 is 180. When the school is oversubscribed, priority is applied using oversubscription criteria that includes:

• Looked-after and previously looked-after children.

• Sibling priority (with conditions on the sibling’s year group).

• Children of eligible staff (with service requirements).

• A structured distance approach, including up to 50% of remaining places allocated within a one-mile radius (ranked by distance), then places for one to two miles, then all other applicants.

Competitiveness

the most recent admissions figures provided show 486 applications for 180 places, which equates to 2.7 applications per place. For many families, that is the central reality of the school, the educational offer may be a good fit, but securing entry can be the limiting factor.

Sixth form entry (Year 12)

applications are open to internal and external students, with capacity described as 200 students across Years 12 and 13 and an admission number for eligible external applicants in Year 12 of 10, with additional external applicants considered up to overall capacity subject to entry requirements. Entry requirements are explicit: A-level study requires grade 5 to 9 in Maths and English plus three other GCSEs at grade 5 to 9, with higher thresholds for four A-levels; vocational routes have different minimums.

Parents comparing options should use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check the practical reality of distance-based criteria, and to model the likelihood of being inside the distances that historically gained entry across Coventry schools.

The school makes safeguarding processes visible to families and frames safeguarding and child protection as a whole-school responsibility. Named safeguarding leadership roles are published, and the site describes access to early help, multi-agency working, and structured wellbeing support.

On mental health support, the school states it has trained mental health leads and access to counselling support, alongside links to external services. That matters because secondary pupils often need a mix of quick access for low-level issues, plus more sustained support for anxiety, attendance-related stress, or friendship concerns.

Behaviour and belonging are reinforced through the college model and tutor time routines. Tutor time is not treated as administrative only. The school describes it as a period for reading, personal development activities, and readiness checks, which tends to support consistent expectations across year groups.

Finham Park 2 builds extracurricular time into the day via Out of School Hours Learning (OOSHL) at the end of the timetable. That is a structural choice, it gives the school a predictable slot for catch-up, clubs, and supervised enrichment without relying solely on ad hoc after-school arrangements.

Specific enrichment examples are important, because they show what pupils actually do rather than generic claims. The inspection evidence references clubs such as debating and robotics, and also highlights sixth form students acting as paired reading mentors for younger pupils. This combination is meaningful. Debating and robotics develop disciplinary thinking and communication, while paired reading adds a leadership role and builds cross-age relationships within the college structure.

Facilities investment is also shaping extracurricular breadth. A recent expansion project reported externally includes additional sport facilities and a second multi-use games area, plus a reconfiguration that creates additional classrooms and increases future capacity. For families, the practical outcome is more teaching space and more room for sport and activity, which often translates into a wider set of timetabled and after-school options over time.

The school publishes a detailed day structure. The day begins with mentor time at 08:40, runs through five lesson periods with break and lunch, and includes OOSHL until 16:00. Parents should treat OOSHL as scheduled school activity rather than wraparound childcare, and confirm which sessions are compulsory, targeted, or optional for their child’s year group.

For travel, Coventry has multiple rail stations including Coventry station and local stations such as Tile Hill, and families commonly use a mix of rail, bus, walking and cycling depending on where they live.

On site access, trust documentation describes visitor entry through the main gates and use of a visitor car park, with disabled parking available. For pick-up and drop-off, it is sensible to expect a busy approach road at peak times, so families should look for school guidance on safe arrival routines and any traffic management expectations.

• Competition for Year 7 places. The published admission number is 180, and the latest admissions data indicates 486 applications for 180 places. If you are relying on a place, understand the oversubscription rules and how the school applies its distance bands.

• Sixth form outcomes are weaker than GCSE outcomes. A-level results sit below England averages and the A-level ranking is lower than the GCSE ranking. Students may still do very well in specific subjects, but it is worth scrutinising subject-level fit and support.

• Attendance is a stated barrier to achievement. The inspection evidence identifies that too many pupils miss school unnecessarily, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Ask how attendance is monitored and how support is targeted when patterns begin.

• Reading culture is still being strengthened. The school is building a strategy for weaker readers, but the inspection evidence indicates that wide and regular reading is not yet consistent for all pupils. This matters most for students who arrive with literacy gaps.

Finham Park 2 is a structured, values-led Coventry secondary with a clearly defined pastoral model and an organised school day that includes built-in enrichment time. GCSE performance sits in the broad middle of England by FindMySchool ranking, while the sixth form picture is less strong overall, so post-16 choices should be made carefully and with subject-level realism. Best suited to families who want clear routines, a defined pastoral system, and a school that is expanding its facilities and capacity, while accepting that competition for Year 7 entry and consistency through sixth form are the main issues to weigh.