The Rural Enterprise Academy Review 2026: A specialist secondary with an environmental and land based lens

This is not a conventional 11 to 16 secondary. The Rural Enterprise Academy’s identity is built around sustainability, enterprise, and land based learning, with elements such as Forest School in Years 7 and 8 and a dedicated Countryside and Environment strand that develops into sustainable land management themes in Year 9.

That distinctive curriculum makes the school a clear option for children who prefer practical, applied learning and who are motivated by outdoors, environment, and rural industries. It also means fit matters more than usual, because a pupil who actively dislikes those themes may find the day to day offer less engaging than a more traditional local comprehensive.

Context is important. The most recent graded inspection judged the academy Inadequate (9 to 10 July 2024), and the school has been operating through special measures improvement work since then.

The academy’s published values, Kindness, Respect, Ambition, and Resilience, set the tone for how staff want students to behave and how students are expected to treat each other.

The current headteacher is Mrs Annabel Stoddart, recorded as taking up the role on 28 April 2025. Leadership stability matters here, because recent improvement work has relied on clearer roles, tighter accountability, and a consistent approach to behaviour and attendance.

A practical detail that often shapes the feel of a smaller secondary is the daily rhythm. The published school day runs from 9.00am to 3.30pm, with registration open until 9.30am. That slightly later start than many secondaries can suit some families, particularly those travelling across a wider area.

FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking places the academy 3,469th in England and 8th in the Stafford area for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data).

On headline GCSE measures provided:

• Attainment 8 is 37.7.

• Progress 8 is -0.21, which indicates students made below average progress across eight subjects compared with similar starting points.

• The average EBacc average point score is 3.2.

• The percentage achieving grades 5 or above across EBacc subjects is recorded as 0.

Performance sits below England average overall, reflected in the school’s placement within the lower performance band in England for GCSE outcomes (25th to 100th percentile range, here at the lower end of that distribution).

The implication for families is straightforward. This is currently a school where the distinctive curriculum and the improvement trajectory may be more decision critical than raw outcomes alone, especially for children who learn best through applied contexts and who will benefit from the academy’s environmental and enterprise framing.

The school presents its curriculum as broad, with a specialised emphasis on environment and land based sectors, and students are expected to choose the academy because they have an interest in those areas and may want to build careers from them.

A practical, concrete example of that specialism is the Countryside and Environment pathway:

• Years 7 and 8 include Forest School with outdoor activities designed to build confidence and problem solving, including bushcraft and environmental conservation activities.

• Year 9 shifts towards sustainable land management, biodiversity, and conservation practice.

Alongside the specialist elements, subject pages indicate a conventional secondary structure in core areas such as science and computing, with an emphasis on skills like analysis, experimentation, and problem solving in science, and digital literacy plus programming and creative media in computing.

From an improvement perspective, the most recent monitoring evidence points to an emerging common lesson structure intended to create consistency across subjects, with next steps focused on assessment consistency and embedding adaptive teaching more widely.

Where Students Go Next

With no sixth form, the key transition is at 16. The academy’s published careers programme aligns to the Gatsby Benchmarks and sets out planned encounters with careers education, employers, and further and higher education information across year groups.

Because the destination data in the supplied dataset is not populated, families should treat post 16 planning as a core part of their due diligence. The sensible question to ask is not only which local colleges or sixth forms students move on to, but how the school supports subject and pathway choices for students aiming for land based training routes, apprenticeships, or more traditional academic study.

Applications are coordinated through Staffordshire for the normal Year 7 entry point. For September 2026 entry, the local authority application system opened on 1 September 2025 and the closing date was 31 October 2025. Offers are issued on 2 March 2026 for Staffordshire applicants.

The academy’s own published information reinforces the same closing date and points families to apply by the nationally coordinated deadline.

One nuance worth understanding is catchment. Trust level admissions documentation states that there is no catchment area for the academy. In practice, this can widen the potential applicant pool, and it increases the importance of understanding published oversubscription criteria and transport feasibility early.

Open evening information for the September 2026 cycle was published as Thursday 2 October 2025, 5pm to 7pm. If you are reading this later in the cycle, treat early October as the typical pattern and check the school’s latest published dates.

Parents weighing multiple options should also use FindMySchoolMap Search to understand travel practicality and compare nearby alternatives, especially where catchment structures differ across Staffordshire schools.

The improvement story here matters for wellbeing as much as for academics. A monitoring inspection on 15 July 2025 reported that safeguarding is now effective, with clearer systems and staff training leading to timely actions and stronger oversight, including for pupils educated off site.

The same monitoring evidence points to a simplified behaviour approach intended to be applied consistently, with early signs of improvement alongside remaining inconsistency that leaders are working to embed.

Attendance is also a stated focus. The school describes itself as an Inclusive Attendance school, and published materials describe strengthened tracking and interventions alongside a goal to continue improving overall attendance.

The most credible indicator of enrichment is specificity. The academy’s curriculum information lists a set of named clubs and roles, including Forest School, Eco Club, Duke of Edinburgh, Chess, and Wellbeing Ambassadors, alongside creative and performance options such as drama, dance, and art.

The practical implication is that enrichment often aligns to the academy’s wider identity. Forest School and Countryside and Environment activities extend the school day’s outdoor and sustainability themes into structured experiences, which can suit pupils who prefer doing and building to purely classroom based learning.

Where enrichment is organised in blocks and changes termly, families should ask how allocation works and how the school ensures access for pupils who need support with routine, attendance, or behaviour, because participation is often where confidence and belonging are rebuilt during a turnaround phase.

The published school day runs 9.00am to 3.30pm, with registration closing at 9.30am. Term dates for the 2025 to 2026 academic year are published, which is useful for planning.

Transport is a meaningful consideration because the school does not rely on a single tight neighbourhood intake. The academy states that some transport routes are provided for a charge and that local authority support may fund all or part of the cost subject to eligibility. Staffordshire also publishes dedicated school transport timetables for routes serving the academy, updated from 2 September 2025 for at least one service.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should still plan for normal secondary costs such as uniform, trips, and optional activities.

• Ofsted position and improvement phase. The academy is operating through special measures following the July 2024 inspection outcome, so day to day consistency is a key question for prospective families.

• Curriculum fit matters. The environmental and land based lens is a strength for the right child, but it is less compelling for a pupil who prefers a purely conventional academic offer.

• No published catchment area. A wider intake can be positive, but it makes travel planning and oversubscription rules more important to understand early.

• Post 16 planning. With no sixth form, families should explore transition routes at 16 and ensure the careers and guidance programme matches the student’s ambitions.

The Rural Enterprise Academy is a distinctive Staffordshire 11 to 16 option, built around sustainability, countryside learning, and enterprise themes that can make education feel more relevant for practically minded pupils. Recent inspection history means families should weigh improvement momentum alongside outcomes and should ask direct questions about consistency in teaching, behaviour, and support. Best suited to students who are motivated by environmental and land based learning, and who will respond well to clear routines and a structured turnaround plan.