Leasowes High School Review 2026: Calm, purposeful 11 to 16 with a strong enrichment spine

This is a large, mixed 11 to 16 secondary that puts culture and belonging up front, with a clear, student-centred mantra running through daily routines and pastoral work. The latest inspection picture is consistent with that, a calm and purposeful environment, strong relationships, and a broad curriculum that has been tightened and made more coherent over the last couple of years.

Academic outcomes sit around the middle of the England distribution on the available GCSE ranking measure, with a below-average Progress 8 score in the most recent dataset. That combination usually points to a school that is working hard on consistency, especially in classroom checks of understanding and SEND classroom adaptation, both flagged as areas for improvement.

Families considering admission for September 2026 have unusually clear information to work with. The school publishes dates for the local authority coordinated process, and it also provides specific open evening and open morning dates for the same intake.

The most distinctive feature here is the emphasis on a shared identity. The inspection report notes that pupils are proud to belong, and it describes the day-to-day feel as calm and purposeful, with relationships between staff and pupils described as extremely effective. That matters for parents because the tone of corridors, transitions, and social time tends to shape everything else, attendance, behaviour, and the willingness to ask for help.

Alongside mainstream pastoral systems, there is also an added pastoral layer through the Ethos team. The school describes an on-site Ethos Leader, youth worker, and family support worker, with a programme that includes lunch clubs, targeted one-to-one and group interventions, and practical family support. The themes are explicit, healthy relationships, character and values, plus learning that engages with Christian perspectives as part of broader personal development rather than a change to the school’s designated religious character.

Leadership is stable and clearly visible in the school’s communications. The headteacher introduces themselves directly on the school website, and government information published online indicates the headteacher role in place from April 2023.

At GCSE level, the school is ranked 2520th in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 3rd locally within the Halesowen area in the same ranking set. This places performance broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), rather than in the top tier or the lowest-performing group.

Looking at the underlying indicators, the Attainment 8 score is 41.9. The Progress 8 score is -0.47, which indicates that, on average, students made less progress than pupils with similar starting points nationally. EBacc outcomes show an average EBacc APS of 3.75, with 13.3% achieving grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure captured.

The most practical implication is that outcomes are likely to vary by subject and cohort, with consistency of teaching and day-to-day learning routines becoming the decisive factor. The inspection narrative supports that interpretation, it describes clear explanations and effective checking of learning in many areas, but it also notes that checking understanding is not consistent across all subjects, which can leave gaps and misconceptions unresolved.

Parents comparing local secondaries should use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to view these results side by side with nearby options, particularly if you are weighing a broadly average attainment profile against strong pastoral culture and enrichment.

Curriculum work is a clear focus. The inspection report describes a curriculum that has been reviewed to raise ambition and improve standards, and it notes that the curriculum now identifies key knowledge and the order in which it is taught. That sequencing point matters because it reduces reliance on individual teacher preference and tends to support better revision, better retention, and clearer progression between units.

Teaching is described as clear in many instances, with learning activities building on prior knowledge and checks used to identify gaps or misconceptions. The report gives a concrete example from art, where careful explanation and task selection support pupils to produce high-quality masks. The improvement point is equally concrete, on some occasions, understanding is not checked carefully enough, which makes it harder for some pupils to learn the new curriculum securely.

Reading has a deliberate profile. Pupils who are at the early stages of reading are identified quickly and supported, and reading is embedded through frequent exposure to high-quality texts during form time. This sits neatly alongside the published structure of the school day, which includes guided reading and intervention within the morning pastoral block.

Students with SEND are described as having needs accurately identified and being supported to follow the same ambitious curriculum as peers. The specific improvement action is classroom-level adaptation, staff do not always use available information consistently to adapt curriculum delivery and tasks, which can affect progress for some students with SEND.

Because this is an 11 to 16 school, post-16 pathways are the key question. The school’s enrichment and careers activity is set up to make those decisions more informed rather than rushed. One clear example is Year 10 work experience, which the school frames as a one-week placement supported for all Year 10 students, with preparation starting earlier through packs issued in Year 9. The stated purpose is employability skills, confidence, and better career insight, which tends to translate into stronger post-16 course choices and more credible applications.

For more academically able students, the Gryphon programme acts as a structured stretch pathway. The school describes after-school sessions, self-study, and work with other institutions including Halesowen College and Worcester University, and it frames this as providing additional opportunities for more able students. In practice, this sort of programme can be useful preparation for competitive sixth form courses, selective college pathways, and high-demand vocational routes.

The inspection report also highlights careers guidance as strong, with meaningful encounters with the world of work designed to be accessible to all pupils.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through your home local authority. For September 2026 entry, the school states that applications open on 1 September 2025 and close on 31 October 2025, with decisions issued on 1 March 2026. Dudley’s published timetable for the same intake aligns closely, including the 31 October 2025 deadline and early March decision notification timings.

Demand looks real. The available admissions dataset records 371 applications for 180 offers, which is a little over two applications per place overall. In a system like this, that usually means families should treat admission as competitive and plan accordingly, especially if you are relying on a single school choice.

The school describes transition as a structured process rather than a single induction day. It references primary visits by senior leaders, taster sessions, an induction day in July, and a buddy system attached to form groups to support students early on.

Open events are clearly signposted for the same admissions cycle. For the September 2026 intake, the school publishes open evenings on 17 and 18 September 2025 (6.30pm to 8.30pm) and open mornings on 23 and 25 September 2025 (9.15am to 10.30am).

If you are making a move based on admissions odds, use the FindMySchool Map Search to check your home-to-school distance against the most recent allocation patterns and to model alternatives. Even when schools use distance as a criterion, year-to-year patterns can shift significantly with the applicant mix.

Pastoral care comes through as a strength in both official reporting and the school’s published support structure. Pupils are described as enjoying school and speaking highly of the care they receive, with high confidence that staff deal with issues that arise.

The Ethos team is the most distinctive layer, with explicit capacity for emotional wellbeing support, lunch clubs and drop-ins, and intervention work on anxiety, resilience, bereavement, and behavioural difficulties. It also explicitly positions its work as supporting safeguarding needs through safe spaces and staff availability.

Personal development themes are also clearly planned. The inspection report references coverage of healthy relationships, online safety, and respectful attitudes towards difference. For parents, this is the part of school life that often determines whether a teenager feels they can be themselves, whether they will report concerns, and whether the school can course-correct quickly when friendship issues arise.

One explicit point worth noting is safeguarding. The latest Ofsted inspection confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Extracurricular life is presented as a meaningful extension of the curriculum rather than an add-on. The inspection report references opportunities such as theatre visits, Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, and school productions as routes to skills and character development.

Several activities are described in a way that is specific enough for parents to understand the commitment level. Duke of Edinburgh is positioned as a weekly group that meets after school and during holidays, with navigation, camp craft and leadership preparation, plus training walks leading into expeditions. The school also states a summer expedition destination, The Long Mynd in Shropshire, which gives a tangible sense of what participation involves.

STEM enrichment has at least one named pathway, F1 in Schools. The school publishes a weekly club slot, Tuesday 3.15pm to 4.15pm, and it describes the wider competition structure around designing, manufacturing and branding a miniature F1 car raced on a 20-metre track.

Performing arts opportunities are also clearly framed. The drama page references a Year 7 drama club and auditions for school productions.

Finally, the Gryphon programme adds a different kind of enrichment for students who want academic extension, with after-school masterclasses and links to college and university partners.

The published school day starts with form, assembly, guided reading or intervention at 8.45am, and the school day ends at 3.15pm.

There is also a breakfast offer available on site, with the school stating that its breakfast café operates from 8.15am in the dining hall.

For transport, Rowley Regis is listed as the nearest rail station in commonly used journey planning tools, and there are bus stops close to the school site on Kent Road and nearby roads.

• Outcomes and consistency. Progress 8 is below average in the latest dataset. For some families, the most important question will be how consistently teachers check understanding and close gaps across subjects, which is an identified improvement priority.

• SEND classroom adaptation. Students with SEND are supported and follow an ambitious curriculum, but the consistency of classroom adaptation is an improvement point. Families should ask how staff use SEND information in day-to-day teaching, not only what plans exist on paper.

• Competition for places. The available admissions data indicates more than two applications per place overall. A strong application strategy matters, including realistic backup preferences and careful attention to deadlines.

• Post-16 planning starts early. As an 11 to 16 school, strong careers guidance and work experience help, but families should still plan early for sixth form and college pathways, especially where subject availability varies by provider.

Leasowes High School suits families who want a mainstream 11 to 16 secondary with a calm culture, strong pastoral visibility, and enrichment that includes practical pathways such as work experience, Duke of Edinburgh, and STEM competition work. The main trade-off is academic consistency, outcomes are broadly mid-range in England on the available ranking measure, with below-average progress in the latest dataset, so the best fit will be students who respond well to clear routines and who will take advantage of the support and extension structures available.