City of Peterborough Academy Review 2026, a community secondary with a clear improvement story

This is a Peterborough secondary built around a straightforward idea, high expectations, strong routines, and a curriculum that aims to widen horizons for a diverse local intake. The academy opened in September 2013 and is part of Greenwood Academies Trust, which brings central support alongside local leadership.

The headline inspection picture is positive and recent. The latest Ofsted inspection in July 2024 judged the academy Good across all graded areas, with a clear sense that leadership actions and classroom practice are moving in the right direction.

Academic outcomes sit below the England average on FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking, but Progress 8 is positive, which matters because it points to students making stronger progress than typical from their starting points. For families, that combination often reads as: a school with improving systems, with teaching that is better at moving students forward than its raw attainment alone suggests.

The academy’s public-facing values use plain language, Respect and Kindness, Excellence, Ambition, Character, Honesty. That matters because it sets expectations for behaviour and relationships in a way that pupils and families can actually understand and repeat, rather than relying on vague statements.

There is also a distinctive internal shorthand, REACH for excellence, used repeatedly in school materials as a way of describing culture and standards. In practice, this kind of shared language tends to work best when it shows up in routines: uniform, punctuality, tutor time, and consistent classroom expectations. The prospectus leans into that traditional, rules-led framing, while also emphasising support and aspiration.

Leadership information appears in several official places and is worth reading carefully. The most recent Ofsted report names Nicola Treacy as principal and states that she took up the role in September 2023. Separately, official records and academy communications also reference Matthew Van Lier in an executive principal capacity across associated academies. Families considering the school should expect a trust-supported leadership structure, with day-to-day routines and standards driven locally.

FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking puts the academy at 3,034th in England and 14th in Peterborough for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). That sits below England average, within the lower-performing band nationally.

At GCSE level, the academy’s Attainment 8 score is 41.2.

Progress is a more encouraging part of the picture. The academy’s Progress 8 score is 0.25, which indicates students, on average, make above-average progress between the end of primary and GCSE compared to pupils with similar prior attainment nationally.

EBacc indicators suggest a mixed pattern. The academy’s average EBacc APS is 3.57, with the England comparator at 4.08. The percentage achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc is 4.1.

How to interpret this as a parent: the school’s “value added” signal is stronger than its headline attainment, which often points to better sequencing, stronger routines, and improving quality of teaching. Parents comparing options locally can use the FindMySchool Local Hub comparison tool to view these measures alongside other Peterborough secondaries, using the same benchmarks.

Curriculum intent is framed around community, opportunity, and preparation. The school makes an explicit link between a broad subject offer and raising aspirations for students, including through trips, visitors, and careers activity.

The prospectus outlines a structured day with tutor time at the start, followed by five taught periods and a dedicated enrichment slot later in the afternoon for Years 7 to 10. The design here matters. A regular, timetable-embedded enrichment period can protect breadth in busy secondary schedules, particularly for students who might not stay after school due to transport or caring responsibilities.

Support for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities is described as a combination of in-class support and small-group or individual interventions, delivered by teaching assistants and higher-level teaching assistants, with training and an internal referral process. The practical implication is that families should ask very specific questions at transition: what intervention looks like for reading, numeracy, behaviour for learning, and speech and language needs, and how progress is reviewed across a term.

With an age range up to 16, the main transition point is post-16 study or training. The school positions this as a route into further study, apprenticeships, and employment, supported by careers education from Year 7 and employer engagement, interviews, and work experience.

The most useful question for families is less “where do students go” and more “how does the school build readiness”. Here, the timetable model, with tutor-led reading, PSHE, and structured enrichment, is designed to build habits and confidence as well as qualifications.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated through Peterborough City Council’s secondary transfer process, not directly through the academy for the normal point of entry. For September 2026 entry, the council states that first round applications ran from 12 September to 31 October 2025, with offers on 2 March 2026 (National Offer Day for that cycle). A second round window runs from 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2026, with processing in late April and offer letters issued by early May.

The academy’s published admission number for Year 7 is 180. Oversubscription is handled using the standard priority order: Education, Health and Care Plan naming the academy, then looked-after and previously looked-after children, then siblings, then children of staff in specified circumstances, then other children. Where a tie-break is needed within a criterion, allocation is by straight-line distance, with a published random allocation process if distances are identical.

On catchment, the local authority explicitly lists the academy among secondary schools that do not operate a defined catchment area. That does not remove competition; it simply means distance and the other oversubscription criteria do the work that a catchment boundary might otherwise do.

If you are judging chances by geography, families should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check the practical home-to-school distance and travel route, then sanity-check that against the admissions rules and the local authority process for the relevant year.

The school places significant emphasis on reporting routes, safeguarding awareness, and anti-bullying culture. One distinctive feature is the SHARP System, positioned as a student-facing reporting channel for concerns in or out of school. Whatever a family thinks of the branding, the practical advantage is clear: pupils are repeatedly told how to raise an issue, and there is a defined pathway to do it.

The school also states that it is a member of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, and frames bullying education around definition, impact, and reporting. The helpful step for parents is to ask how this is reinforced in tutor time and PSHE, and how quickly families can expect a response after a report is made.

Student leadership is also presented as a meaningful strand rather than a token one, including Student Prefects, a student senior leadership team, and Humanutopia Heroes used in transition support for new Year 7s.

The enrichment offer is unusually specific in published materials, which makes it easier for parents to judge fit. Examples include Science Club, arts and crafts, Poetry Masterclasses, music and band practices, and additional languages support. There is also structured personal development through the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award and a Level 2 Sports Leaders Award.

The performing arts strand goes beyond generic “drama club” claims. The school describes an annual whole-school musical, and also references an ongoing partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Playmaking festival, including a previous production of King Lear and involvement in national festival activity. For a child who gains confidence through structured performance and rehearsal, this can be a powerful counterweight to academic pressure, because it creates public moments of success not tied to grades.

Sport is presented as both competitive and recreational, with teams in football, netball, basketball, rounders and athletics, and recreational options including badminton, boxing and fitness. The implication is that there is a route for students who want fixtures, and also a route for students who want activity for health and enjoyment without selection pressure.

This is a state school with no tuition fees.

The published academy day runs 8.35am to 3.05pm, with the site open to students from 8.15am. Year 11 has an additional session listed after the main day, running 3.05pm to 3.50pm for enrichment and support.

For travel, families typically plan around Peterborough’s urban bus routes and walking or cycling for local pupils, with rail travel centred on Peterborough station for those coming from further out. In practice, the key question is reliability at the start of day, since punctuality expectations are usually strict in a routines-led school.

• Results context. GCSE attainment sits below England average on the FindMySchool ranking, even though Progress 8 is positive. This can suit students who benefit from improving teaching and stronger routines, but families should ask how the school supports students aiming for top grades and EBacc breadth.

• No catchment boundary. The local authority states the academy does not operate a defined catchment area, so admissions depend heavily on the oversubscription criteria and distance tie-breaks. Families should read the criteria closely and plan realistic alternatives.

• Structured expectations. The prospectus describes traditional expectations around uniform, behaviour and standards. That can be reassuring for many families; it can also feel demanding for students who struggle with regulation unless support is properly resourced.

• Enrichment is a strength, but check access. The published offer is strong, from science and poetry to Duke of Edinburgh and performing arts. Parents should ask how places are allocated when activities are oversubscribed and what support exists for pupils who lack kit, transport, or confidence to join in.

City of Peterborough Academy is best understood as a school focused on clear routines, visible standards, and a curriculum model that protects enrichment alongside lessons. The inspection story and internal language point to a school that has been tightening systems and raising expectations in recent years, with positive progress measures suggesting that improvement is showing up in student outcomes.

Who it suits: families who want a structured secondary with a broad enrichment offer, and whose child responds well to clear rules, consistent pastoral routes, and frequent opportunities to build confidence through clubs, performance, and leadership roles.