Sirius Academy North Review 2026: Improving behaviour and personal development, with curriculum work still bedding in

Sirius Academy North serves families in Bransholme and wider north Hull as an 11 to 16 secondary academy within The Constellation Trust. At its best, the offer is clear, purposeful, and practical, with strong emphasis on personal development, enrichment, and structured routines. A distinctive feature is the breadth of experiences promoted alongside lessons, including performing arts events, sports, and cadet opportunities.

The most recent inspection paints a school in transition. Behaviour, attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management were judged Good at the December 2024 inspection, while quality of education was judged Requires Improvement. Safeguarding was confirmed as effective.

Academically, published GCSE performance indicators point to substantial work still needed. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 36.6 and Progress 8 is -1.01, suggesting that outcomes, on average, have been below pupils’ starting points when compared across England. In FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking based on official data, it sits 3,333rd in England and 15th in Hull, which places it below England average overall (within the bottom 40% band).

A consistent message from formal evidence is that the school has recently tightened routines and expectations. Classrooms are increasingly calm and orderly, disruption has reduced, and staff and pupils report that changes to the behaviour system are working. That matters for day-to-day learning because consistency is the single biggest driver of whether a school feels predictable and safe for children.

The school frames its culture through five curriculum principles, “No Limits”, “Respect”, “Support”, “Broadening Horizons”, and “Community”, which appear across its public messaging and underpin how enrichment and personal development are positioned.

Leadership information can look slightly inconsistent across public pages because the academy website uses “Head of School” in footers and governance pages, while official reporting identifies the headteacher. The December 2024 inspection report states that the headteacher is Ian Ravenscroft, and it names the trust CEO and chair.

The strongest part of the “feel” of the school, as evidenced, is the intentional effort to remove barriers to participation. Pupils are encouraged to take part in activities spanning sport, music, cooking, and performance, and this participation is treated as a central component of school life rather than an optional extra.

Sirius Academy North is judged, by FindMySchool’s proprietary ranking based on official data, at 3,333rd in England and 15th in Hull for GCSE outcomes. This places performance below England average overall, within the bottom 40% of ranked schools in England.

Headline outcome indicators reinforce that this is a school where academic improvement remains the priority. The Attainment 8 score is 36.6. Progress 8 is -1.01, which indicates pupils have, on average, made less progress than similar pupils across England.

The Ebacc average point score is 3.17, with 8.6% achieving grades 5 or above across the Ebacc element. Taken together, these figures signal that, for families choosing this school, it is sensible to focus on trajectory and support, not just raw results.

For parents comparing options across Hull, FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages and Comparison Tool can be useful for viewing GCSE indicators side-by-side with nearby schools, especially where travel time and pastoral fit are close calls.

Curriculum work is a major theme in the most recent inspection evidence. The report indicates that leaders have spent significant time improving curriculum design, identifying key knowledge in most subjects, and strengthening practice and recall. The clearest implication for families is that the intent is now more coherent, but implementation is still uneven. Some subjects have embedded improvements more successfully than others, and older pupils can still have gaps where changes arrived later in their school journey.

English and mathematics are singled out as areas where curriculum strengthening is more established, but the report also notes that improvements are not yet fully reflected in external examination outcomes. This is typical of “turnaround lag”, where curriculum and teaching changes show in day-to-day learning before they show in GCSE headline measures.

Reading is treated as a priority, including targeted support for weaker readers delivered through phonics and other interventions. For pupils who arrive in Year 7 with reading gaps, this kind of structured catch-up can be the difference between coping across the curriculum and falling behind in multiple subjects.

As an 11 to 16 school, the main transition point is after GCSEs. Careers education is embedded through a “Life” curriculum, with guidance intended to support informed post-16 choices.

In practice, families typically consider a mix of sixth forms and further education colleges across Hull and the East Riding for post-16 routes. The most important question to explore early is how the school supports students in making realistic choices and securing places, including subject suitability, entry requirements, and preparation for interviews or applications where needed.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through the local authority process, with a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 280. If applications exceed places, priority is set through published oversubscription criteria.

After pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the academy are placed, the policy prioritises, in order: looked after and previously looked after children; children with exceptional medical or social needs; children of staff (under defined conditions); children resident in the catchment area; children with a sibling on roll at the point of admission; then distance to the academy. Where a tie remains for the final place, random allocation is used as the final tie-breaker (with independent verification).

Distance is measured by the local authority using RouteFinder, based on the shortest available safe walking route from the front entrance of the home to the academy’s main entrance.

For September 2026 entry (Year 7), the Hull local authority timetable states that applications open on 01 September 2025, with a submission deadline of 31 October 2025. Offers are released on 02 March 2026.

Families who are weighing multiple schools should use the FindMySchoolMap Search to sanity-check distance-based plausibility alongside the school’s published oversubscription criteria, particularly where catchment and distance rules are central.

Pastoral evidence is a relative strength. Behaviour and attitudes were judged Good at the most recent inspection, and the report describes a calmer environment and reduced disruption. Attendance has been prioritised, with overall attendance rising and persistent absence reducing rapidly.

Bullying is described as rare by many pupils, and the report notes that pupils generally feel safe and can speak to an adult about worries. This matters because, for many families, the baseline expectation is not perfection, but a school where concerns are taken seriously and resolved promptly.

Inclusion is also a notable theme. The school identifies a broad range of needs quickly and adapts curriculum where appropriate, including specific pathways such as the Emerald pathway referenced in the inspection.

Enrichment is positioned as a core lever for confidence and aspiration, not a bolt-on. The school explicitly links “Broadening Horizons” to academic achievement by widening vocabulary and building wider knowledge, and it maintains a timetable of clubs and activities across the week.

The most distinctive, named opportunities include a strong STEM offer and structured leadership development. The STEM page references participation in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Top of the Bench Challenge, Smallpeice Trust STEM days, and visits to Big Bang events at universities. It also names the Greenpower racing club, where pupils build and race a 24V electric car against other teams.

A second signature option is the Combined Cadet Force, founded in September 2017. The programme runs weekly with field craft, drill, and military skills, plus opportunities for camps and trips. The school also references the possibility of exceptional cadets being put forward for a leadership course in Canada. For some families, this is a compelling structure for discipline, confidence, and teamwork, but it is also time-intensive and can affect after-school logistics.

Facilities investment supports this enrichment focus. The academy states it built a unique library space in 2021, and in 2022 opened a new section providing additional canteen space, meeting space, a PE studio, and six new history classrooms. For sport and community use, the school lists a full-size astroturf pitch, Multi Use Games Area, dance studio, sports hall, changing rooms, and a large car park.

The published timetable indicates a tutor period starting at 08:30, with five teaching periods and breaks through to 15:05, while Year 7 finishes at 15:00. The timetable is designed to provide over 30 hours of teaching per week.

The school publishes term dates for the 2025 to 2026 academic year, including a 01 September 2025 training day, with pupils returning from 02 September 2025 (specific year groups first) and 03 September 2025 (all students). The year ends on 17 July 2026.

For travel, the school has published Stagecoach service information indicating services that run via Hull Interchange and then along Hall Road. On-site parking is indicated as available (with staff car park use referenced for visitors in a government service listing).

• Academic outcomes remain a key challenge. Current headline indicators point to below-average progress and attainment overall. Families should ask clear questions about subject-by-subject improvement, consistency of teaching, and how gaps are being closed for older pupils.

• Quality of education is still bedding in. Curriculum work is underway and improvements are described, but consistency varies between subjects. This can be manageable for motivated learners with strong support, but harder for pupils who need predictable structure in every lesson.

• No sixth form. Students will need to plan a post-16 move after Year 11, so it is worth exploring how careers guidance, applications, and transition support operate in practice.

• After-school commitments can affect logistics. Options like the Combined Cadet Force run beyond the normal end of day and involve travel between sites on Tuesdays.

Sirius Academy North is best understood as a school with strengthening routines, positive personal development, and a serious push on curriculum improvement, but with academic outcomes that still have ground to make up. It suits families who value a structured approach to behaviour and enrichment, including strong STEM and leadership pathways, and who are willing to engage closely with how learning gaps are being addressed. The biggest decision point is confidence in the trajectory of teaching quality and examination outcomes over the next few cohorts.