John Port Spencer Academy Review 2026: Large-campus secondary with broad subject choice and a busy enrichment timetable

A defining feature here is scale. With more than 2,000 pupils on roll and a timetable built to handle a big cohort smoothly, John Port Spencer Academy feels closer to a small college than a typical village secondary. The setting reinforces that, with teaching spaces spread across a sizeable site, including a lake at the centre and named buildings such as Edale (the Year 7 base) and Flamsteed (Science).

Leadership has also been in the spotlight recently. Laura O’Leary is listed as Principal on the academy’s leadership information, and introduced herself to families as the new Principal at the start of the 2024/25 academic year.

The latest Ofsted inspection, carried out on 17 and 18 May 2022, judged the academy Good overall, with Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Leadership and Management, and Sixth Form provision all Good, and Personal Development requiring improvement.

This is a school that leans into its “big but structured” identity. The campus language is not accidental: the academy’s own materials describe a “university style campus setting”, and the practical reality is a site organised around multiple buildings and student services points. For many families, that translates into a sense of independence from an early stage, particularly once pupils learn the geography of the site and the routines for moving between lessons.

The physical footprint shows up in daily life. Year 7 induction information places Edale close to the lake and identifies it as a base area, while the Exam Centre is a distinct building used for assemblies and events. Flamsteed is identified as the Science faculty area. These specifics matter because they hint at a school built for scale, where “where you need to be” is an operational part of the culture rather than a minor detail.

Relationships and expectations are presented as strengths in official evidence. The 2022 inspection describes strong pupil-staff relationships, respectful conduct, and calm movement around the site. While parents should always stress-test culture through visits and conversations, the external picture suggests day-to-day behaviour is generally orderly, especially given the size of the cohort.

A final point about identity is governance and trust context. The academy is part of the Spencer Academies Trust, joining in 2018, which is relevant because trust-wide approaches often shape curriculum planning, behaviour systems, and staffing structures over time.

Performance sits around the middle of the national distribution on FindMySchool’s measures, with some clear positives for parents who value steady progress. At GCSE, the academy is ranked 1,579th in England and 6th in Derby for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). That places it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The headline GCSE measures provided indicate an Attainment 8 score of 50 and a Progress 8 score of 0.12, which suggests pupils make above-average progress from their starting points across eight subjects. EBacc average point score is 4.34, and 15.8% achieved grade 5 or above in the EBacc measure listed. (These are the figures available for this school, and they are not overridden by other sources.)

At A-level, the picture is similar on ranking. The academy is ranked 1,284th in England and 8th in Derby for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), which again sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England. Grade distribution measures show A* at 4.96%, A at 15.14%, B at 27.94%, and A* to B at 48.04%. Compared with the England benchmark provided for A* to B (0.472), performance is broadly comparable on that specific measure.

For parents using the site to shortlist, this is a good moment to use FindMySchool’s Local Hub comparison tools to view GCSE and A-level context alongside other local secondaries and sixth forms, especially because “middle 35%” covers a wide range of lived experiences depending on intake and subject mix.

The most useful evidence here is not marketing language, but what the school is set up to do at scale. A large cohort typically forces clarity: shared lesson structures, consistent routines, and curriculum sequences that work across many classrooms at once. The 2022 inspection evidence points to a broad curriculum and an emphasis on “knowledge-rich” sequencing, with subject leaders thinking carefully about what is taught and when, and pupils revisiting and building on prior learning.

Where this becomes practical for families is subject choice and the ability to keep pathways open. The inspection also notes a wide range of subjects at key stage 4 and in the sixth form. For students who are not yet certain whether they are aiming for university, apprenticeships, or a mixed plan, breadth can be a genuine advantage, because it reduces early narrowing.

That said, the same inspection evidence highlights inconsistency in how assessment is used in some subjects, and concerns about ambition and expertise in parts of religious education and personal, social, health and economic education, particularly in Years 10 and 11. This is important because it points to variation: many departments can be strong, but experience may differ by subject, teacher, and year group.

Because this is a school with a sixth form, destinations matter at two levels: post-16 options for Year 11 leavers, and post-18 outcomes for Year 13 leavers.

For the 2023/24 leaver cohort (as recorded in the available dataset), 66% progressed to university, 9% to apprenticeships, 16% to employment, and 2% to further education. These figures are helpful as a broad map of typical routes, and they suggest apprenticeships and direct employment are established outcomes alongside university progression.

The school’s inspection evidence puts careers education in a strong light, noting high-quality careers information, advice and guidance, and a range of work experiences for sixth form students. It also references close relationships with local businesses, particularly in the engineering industry, which fits the local economy and can strengthen apprenticeship and employer-linked routes when done well.

Oxbridge outcomes show seven applications in the measurement period and no offers recorded. For most families, the more relevant interpretation is that there is an identifiable, if small, group of students considering the most selective routes, but it is not an Oxbridge-heavy destination profile.

If your child is aiming for highly selective university entry, the practical step is to ask how the school supports super-curricular development, admissions testing, and references, and to look closely at subject-level outcomes in the courses they care about most.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Derbyshire’s secondary admissions process. For children starting secondary school in September 2026, Derbyshire sets online applications opening on 8 September 2025, with a deadline of midnight on 31 October 2025. Offers are released on 2 March 2026.

The academy publishes an admissions policy for 2026/27 that sits within Derbyshire’s coordinated scheme and sets out oversubscription criteria and arrangements, including in-year admissions and the handling of applications for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school.

Demand is real. The most recent admissions demand figures available show 445 applications and 335 offers, which equates to around 1.33 applications per place, consistent with an oversubscribed picture. There is no published “last distance offered” figure available for this school, so families should focus on Derbyshire’s official admissions guidance and the school’s policy details rather than relying on informal distance assumptions.

For sixth form entry, the academy runs a direct application process for post-16 places. The sixth form application page gives a deadline of 12 December 2025 for applications.

Open events are best treated as a pattern rather than a single date. A published Year 5 and Year 6 open evening for 25 September 2024 suggests an autumn-term timing, typically September, but families should check the academy’s current open events information for the relevant year.

A school of this size needs a pastoral model that does not rely on “everyone knows everyone” informally. The academy describes a dedicated pastoral team including form tutors, heads of year, and pastoral managers, and provides clear contact routes for support.

Safeguarding is a core concern for parents evaluating any large secondary. The May 2022 inspection confirmed safeguarding arrangements as effective, including training, appropriate referral steps, and leaders following up unexplained absences quickly.

Personal development deserves separate attention because it is the area formally identified as weaker in the 2022 inspection outcome. The report points to gaps in the personal development curriculum, including repetition and insufficient ambition in parts of provision, and specifically flags that this was not yet at the standard of other areas of school improvement at that point. Families should ask what has changed since then, and how PSHE, relationships education, and wider personal development are delivered in Years 10 and 11 now.

The academy’s enrichment offer is not just a generic “clubs list”, it is organised into termly timetables and booklets under the heading The John Port Experience, with sessions that run beyond the formal end of the day.

Specific examples help families understand what “opportunity” actually means here. Recent extracurricular materials include Chess Club (lunchtime, in room B09), and Rebel Clefs, described as a pop and musical theatre choir for singers of all abilities. The same booklet references Bar Mock Trials, indicating structured opportunities beyond sport and performing arts.

Sport appears well catered for, including swimming in the wider clubs offer, which aligns with the school’s own description of an on-site community leisure centre with a swimming pool and extensive sports pitches. If your child is motivated by team sport or regular training, the combination of facilities and timetable scale can be a strong fit, especially because larger schools can run more teams and more ability-grouped activity.

Trips and wider experiences also appear in published materials, including Duke of Edinburgh participation and overseas expedition references in school documentation. The practical implication is that the school aims to build a “beyond lessons” culture at volume, which can suit students who are keen to join in, but can also feel overwhelming for those who prefer a narrower routine.

The school day is clearly set out. Registration and form time runs 08:40 to 08:55, with Period 5 ending at 15:00, followed by intervention and extracurricular activities from 15:00.

Transport planning matters for a school drawing from multiple villages and communities. The academy states that responsibility for transport sits with parents, while free school transport is provided for some eligible students via the local authority, and it notes that most buses depart at 15:10, with some services at 15:30. Secure cycle storage is also referenced.

• Personal development is the key flagged weakness in the latest inspection outcome. The 2022 inspection outcome rated Personal Development as Requires Improvement, with specific concerns about curriculum quality and ambition in that area. Ask for current PSHE and personal development plans, especially for Years 10 and 11.

• Size cuts both ways. With more than 2,000 pupils on roll, the school can offer breadth and variety, but students who need a very small setting or who find busy environments draining may need careful consideration of support and structure.

• Admissions are competitive and process-driven. Derbyshire’s application deadline for September 2026 entry is midnight on 31 October 2025, and late preferences are treated as late. Families should plan early and use FindMySchoolMap Search tools to sense-check travel practicalities and commuting time, even when distance is not the published deciding factor for a particular applicant.

• Subject experience may vary. The inspection evidence highlights strong curriculum planning overall, but also points to inconsistent assessment practice in some areas. Families with a particular subject priority should ask for department-level information and enrichment routes in that subject.

John Port Spencer Academy is best understood as a large, structured secondary with a broad curriculum, established sixth form routes, and an enrichment timetable designed to scale. It will suit families who want a big-school breadth of subjects and activities, and students who like variety and are comfortable navigating a campus-style site. The main question for many parents is not whether there are opportunities, but how consistently they land across year groups, particularly around personal development, which is the area to probe most closely.