Thistley Hough Academy Review 2026: Ambitious, inclusive 11–16 secondary with a strong personal development offer

A day here starts with roll call at 08:25 and ends with clubs from 14:45, which sets the tone for a school that treats routines and relationships as part of learning, not an add on. Thistley Hough Academy is a mixed, state funded 11–16 secondary in Penkhull, Stoke on Trent, part of Creative Education Trust. The most recent Ofsted inspection (May 2022) confirmed the school remains Good, with safeguarding effective.

Leadership has moved recently, with Michelle Lawrence appointed Principal in October 2025, and the public messaging is consistent, a clear emphasis on equity, ambition and a broad curriculum alongside personal development.

The school’s positioning is straightforward, it is serving a diverse local community and expects pupils to work hard while feeling supported. Official inspection evidence describes pupils as confident about getting help when they need it and indicates that bullying is perceived as rare and dealt with quickly. That matters in a large 11–16 setting, because confidence in adult follow through is often what allows pupils to settle and focus.

The values language is consistent across channels. The Academy’s three stated virtues are Respect, Resilience and Responsibility, and the published vision focuses on equity and ambition for all, alongside developing articulate, creative, resourceful and independent learners. This is more than branding if parents see it reflected in day to day behaviour routines, staff consistency, and how form time and personal development are used.

There is also a clear inclusion narrative. The Academy describes itself as inclusive and committed to ensuring pupils with special educational needs and disabilities can take part in all aspects of school life. The city’s Local Offer entry adds practical detail that parents usually want, including examples of classroom support tools and the claim that Heads of Year are non teaching staff, which can increase availability for pastoral support and family liaison.

For GCSE outcomes, performance sits in line with the middle 35% of secondary schools in England (25th to 60th percentile). Ranked 2,427th in England and 9th in Stoke on Trent for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), this is a school delivering broadly typical academic outcomes at national level, with scope for strength within specific areas.

The headline metrics from the latest dataset show an Attainment 8 score of 45.1. Progress 8 is 0.23, which indicates pupils make above average progress from their starting points across eight subjects, compared with similar pupils nationally. EBacc related measures are weaker, with 8.6% achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure and an EBacc average point score of 3.85, so families who strongly prioritise the traditional EBacc suite should look closely at subject uptake, language pathways and options guidance.

A practical way to use these figures is comparative shortlisting. Parents weighing nearby secondaries can use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to view GCSE rankings and progress measures side by side, then test the “numbers picture” against curriculum choices and the school’s pastoral approach.

Curriculum intent is described as broad and balanced and aligned with trust support, with teachers delivering subject content effectively in most areas. The strongest evidence on learning is about sequencing and structure, subjects are planned so knowledge builds logically over time, pupils are expected to recall prior learning, then apply new knowledge through independent practice. That sort of pattern, when consistently applied, tends to help pupils who need clarity and predictability in lessons.

A notable feature is the explicit reading support for pupils still learning to read, with teaching assistants delivering phonics sessions. That is a very specific statement for a secondary school and suggests the Academy is not assuming all pupils arrive as fluent readers, which is often the difference between pupils accessing the full curriculum or quietly falling behind across subjects.

The main improvement point in the most recent inspection evidence is about consistency in checking understanding, the risk being that a minority of pupils can carry small gaps forward. Inspectors noted that, at times, teachers move on without checking pupils’ understanding thoroughly enough, which can leave some pupils with gaps in knowledge.

For parents, the practical question to ask is how the school now ensures common lesson routines, retrieval, and responsive teaching are embedded across departments, not just in pockets.

As an 11–16 school, post 16 pathways are a central part of “destination success”, even though the Academy does not have its own sixth form. Careers education is described as starting in Year 7 and continuing through to Year 11, with careers interviews for all pupils during key stage 4 and work experience in Year 10. That combination usually indicates the school is trying to keep options open rather than treating careers as a final year bolt on.

The careers and employability documentation also points to named programmes and encounters that can be meaningful for pupils who benefit from structured exposure to different routes, for example, Prince’s Trust Mosaic and Achieve references, a MedPath programme for selected students, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, mentoring, careers fairs, and alumni speakers referenced as Bamber Scholars.

This matters because in Stoke on Trent, families often want credible, supported routes into colleges, apprenticeships and employment, not just aspirational messaging.

The school also publishes guidance around work experience administration via Unifrog, which is a practical signal of compliance and safeguarding, as well as logistics support for pupils who may struggle to secure placements independently.

Year 7 admission is coordinated through Stoke on Trent City Council rather than directly through the Academy, and for September 2026 entry the local authority timetable states applications opened 01 September 2025 and closed on 31 October 2025.

Offers for secondary places are made on 01 March, aligned with the coordinated admissions scheme.

The published admissions policy sets the Year 7 published admission number at 210. If oversubscribed, priority is given in order to looked after and previously looked after children, then siblings, then children of staff in defined circumstances, then distance from the main gate measured in a straight line. For families in flats or where distances are equal, a random allocation process is stated as the tie breaker. The policy also notes that the Year 7 waiting list is held until the end of December of the admission year.

Open events change year to year, but the Academy has previously used September for Year 6 recruitment activity, for example an open evening in mid September 2025 for September 2026 entry. The safest approach is to treat September as the typical window and confirm the current year’s dates on the school’s channels.

Families who rely on distance based prioritisation should also use the FindMySchool Map Search to check how their home compares to the school gate, since small differences can matter when a year is tight.

Pastoral credibility is best judged through specifics. Official inspection evidence presents the Academy as caring, with staff knowing pupils well and pupils expressing confidence they will be supported. Safeguarding arrangements are described as effective, with a strong culture and staff training, and the personal development curriculum explicitly covering issues such as knife crime, healthy relationships and online safety.

The Local Offer adds detail that is particularly relevant for pupils with additional needs or for families who want to understand how support is organised. It describes the Ambition curriculum as covering keeping safe, careers guidance, and health services; it also states the presence of a school counsellor and an Integration and Engagement Hub, plus engagement with external agencies such as CAMHS and educational psychologists. It also indicates Heads of Year are non teaching, which can translate into higher visibility for pupils and quicker family contact, though parents should still ask how this works in practice for their child’s year group.

The Academy publishes wellbeing resources, including guidance materials and signposting, which is useful for pupils who prefer to access support privately or at home.

The strongest distinctive pillar is the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), which is unusually detailed for a state 11–16 school. It is open to students from Year 8 to Year 11, parades weekly on Thursdays from 14:45 to 16:30, and states an annual subscription of £20 with uniform provided by the Ministry of Defence. The CCF page also lists on site facilities including an air rifle range, paintball, archery and mountain bikes, plus regular weekend trips to army camps and training areas.

That mix tends to suit pupils who respond well to structure, teamwork and responsibility, and it can be a powerful engagement route for pupils who do not identify as “academic first”.

Beyond CCF, the most recent inspection evidence references Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, residential trips and theatre visits, alongside a broader programme of opportunities beyond academic studies.

Careers linked enrichment also appears substantial, including work experience in Year 10 and structured encounters with employers and providers.

Sports and physical activity appear to be actively supported, including a published announcement of new combined football and rugby posts to enable competitive home fixtures.

For families where sport is part of routine and identity, those practical facility upgrades can matter as much as the fixture list.

The published timings show roll call begins at 08:25, with teaching periods running through to the end of the day at 14:45, after which clubs operate.

As a secondary school, there is no standard “wraparound care” offer in the primary sense, so parents who need early drop off or later supervision should ask directly what is available beyond the published clubs and enrichment timetable.

For pupils with mobility needs or families planning accessibility, the Stoke Local Offer entry describes a building that opened in 2013 and states there are two lifts, one serving floors in the main building and another enabling access to the sports hall, alongside a clear colour scheme intended to support pupils with additional needs.

• Leadership stability. The school has seen leadership change in recent years, with a new Principal appointed in October 2025. A change period can bring clarity and momentum, but it can also mean shifting approaches, so families should ask how priorities have been stabilised across behaviour, curriculum and pastoral systems.

• Behaviour and consistency. Behaviour is described as calm and orderly most of the time, but the most recent inspection evidence also referenced a high number of suspensions in that academic year and the need for ongoing work to strengthen positive behaviour. Parents should ask how behaviour policy is implemented day to day and what support sits behind sanctions.

• EBacc focus. EBacc related measures are low in the current dataset. Families who want a strong languages plus humanities pathway should look closely at option structures, language uptake, and how the school encourages academic breadth without narrowing the curriculum.

• Distance based oversubscription. Where oversubscription applies, the policy prioritises distance measured in a straight line to the main gate after key priority groups. For families on the edge of likely allocation, it is sensible to have realistic alternatives on the application form.

Thistley Hough Academy is a grounded, community serving 11–16 school with a clear ambition narrative and a strong personal development offer, particularly through its Combined Cadet Force and structured careers programme. Academic outcomes are broadly in line with the middle of England’s secondary schools, with above average progress suggesting pupils can do well here when systems land consistently.

Best suited to families who want a supportive mainstream secondary with structured routines, visible pastoral systems, and significant enrichment opportunities for students who thrive with responsibility and practical challenge. For families who prioritise a traditional EBacc heavy academic pathway, the most sensible approach is to interrogate options, subject uptake, and how the school is improving consistency in teaching checks.