Granville Academy Review 2026: A steadily improving 11–16 in Woodville

Ambition is the organising principle here, and it shows up in day-to-day routines rather than slogans alone. The curriculum is described as broad and increasingly ambitious, with a clear expectation that pupils revisit key knowledge and build fluency over time. The latest inspection also points to a school that has moved forward in a measurable way since its previous full inspection, with Good judgements across all key areas and safeguarding confirmed as effective.

For families comparing local options, the headline academic indicator is Progress 8 of +0.24, which suggests pupils typically make above-average progress from their starting points. Attainment 8 is 47.5. In FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking, Granville Academy is ranked 2,113th in England and 1st in Swadlincote, placing it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile). These are useful signals of steady performance rather than a selective or exam-heavy profile.

The practical reality for many households is that this is a local, comprehensive 11–16 with a clear improvement trajectory, and a school experience shaped by strong relationships and consistent routines.

The tone is purposeful and structured. Pupils are expected to work hard, and staff expectations around behaviour are explicit, consistent, and framed around values that pupils can recall. The published values are straightforward and memorable, and they are presented as a daily reference point for decision-making rather than a poster exercise.

Relationships matter here. External review material describes positive relationships between staff and pupils, with a strong message that pupils can raise concerns and will be listened to. Pupils report that bullying is uncommon and is dealt with quickly when it does occur, which is the kind of culture parents care about because it shapes whether learning time is protected.

The wider experience extends beyond lessons in ways that feel concrete rather than generic. The school is described as offering a wide set of opportunities outside the taught curriculum, including residential trips to France, Kenya, and Madrid, plus musical instrument learning and school performances. That range tends to suit pupils who thrive when school life includes both routine and occasional high-impact experiences that build confidence, responsibility, and independence.

As an 11–16 school, the most useful academic indicators are GCSE outcomes and progress measures.

GCSE ranking context (FindMySchool ranking based on official data)

Granville Academy is ranked 2,113th in England and 1st in Swadlincote for GCSE outcomes. This reflects solid performance in the context of England schools overall, sitting in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Core outcomes

• Attainment 8: 47.5

• Progress 8: +0.24

Progress 8 is the more diagnostic measure for parents, because it aims to capture the progress pupils make across a basket of subjects compared with pupils nationally with similar prior attainment. A positive score suggests pupils tend to do better than expected from their starting points.

EBacc-related indicators

The proportion achieving grades 5 or above in the English Baccalaureate measure is 9.9, and the average EBacc APS is 4.04. These should be read cautiously as they can reflect both entry patterns and cohort choices, not only teaching quality.

A sensible way to use these figures is for comparison rather than judgement in isolation. Parents looking at multiple local schools can use the FindMySchool Local Hub comparison tool to put Progress 8 and Attainment 8 side-by-side, then test whether the pastoral culture and curriculum approach align with their child’s needs.

The curriculum is described as rich and broad, with an explicit emphasis on ambition and preparation for life beyond school. That matters because breadth can be the difference between a school that keeps options open at 16 and one that narrows routes too early.

Day-to-day teaching is described as structured. Teachers are presented as well trained with strong subject knowledge, with classroom routines designed to help pupils retain and retrieve important content. One practical example is the use of short retrieval activities at the start of lessons, which pupils themselves say helps them remember. This kind of approach tends to benefit pupils who need learning to be sequenced and revisited, especially in knowledge-heavy subjects.

There is also an honest improvement edge. Where implementation is inconsistent, the issue is described as work sometimes not being closely matched to pupils’ prior knowledge, which can lead to tasks being too easy for some pupils and limiting how well they achieve. Parents of high prior-attainers should pay attention to how subjects stretch the most able, because the school’s direction of travel is positive, but consistency across all subjects is still a live priority.

Reading is positioned as a whole-school focus, with early identification for pupils who need catch-up support. This is particularly relevant in 11–16 settings, where gaps in reading fluency can quietly undermine progress across the curriculum if not addressed.

Because Granville Academy is 11–16, progression happens at the end of Year 11. The school’s published external review material points to strengthened careers education and guidance, with events such as careers fairs used to help pupils and parents understand options, including technical routes and apprenticeships alongside sixth form and college pathways.

Importantly, the same review material links this work to improved progression into appropriate education and training after Year 11, which is one of the most meaningful outcomes for an 11–16 school. While specific destination percentages are not available in the provided dataset for this school, parents can still assess how well advice is personalised by asking about guidance interviews, employer engagement, and the support available for applications to sixth forms, colleges, and apprenticeships.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through Derbyshire’s secondary admissions process. For September 2026 entry, Derbyshire accepts applications from 8 September 2025 with a closing deadline of midnight on 31 October 2025. Offers are issued on Monday 2 March 2026, and appeals should be requested by Friday 27 March 2026.

This timing is non-negotiable in practice, because late applications are processed after on-time ones. Families who are weighing multiple schools should plan the autumn term of Year 6 around visits and decision-making, and treat October as the operational cut-off.

If you are considering Granville Academy and want to sense-check the practical reality of access, use the FindMySchool Map Search to understand your home-to-school distance relative to typical local patterns. Even when distance is not the only criterion, it often becomes decisive once priority groups are applied.

Pastoral culture is strongest when it is embedded in routines and relationships. Here, the external review material points to pupils feeling safe and knowing they can speak to staff about concerns. Safeguarding is confirmed as effective in the most recent inspection, which is the baseline requirement for parental confidence.

There is also evidence of structured pupil leadership in wellbeing, including roles such as wellbeing ambassadors. That can be more than a badge if the role includes training and real responsibility, because peer-to-peer support often reaches pupils who are reluctant to speak to adults first.

The area to probe, particularly for families with children who have struggled with behaviour or attendance in the past, is how the school handles the minority of pupils who miss learning due to poor behaviour or absence. The review material is direct that this remains an improvement priority for a small group, and parents should ask what interventions are in place and how quickly support escalates when patterns begin to form.

The most credible extracurricular programmes are those where specific opportunities are named and participation is normalised.

A key headline here is the residential offer, which is described as including trips to France, Kenya, and Madrid. For many pupils, residential travel becomes a turning point in confidence and maturity, particularly when it involves problem-solving, teamwork, and independence outside familiar routines.

Performing arts and enrichment also appear in concrete form. Pupils are described as having opportunities to learn a musical instrument and take part in school performances, which implies provision that goes beyond a small, specialist cohort. For pupils who are not naturally drawn to sport, this kind of visible, school-wide creative offer can be the route into belonging.

Leadership opportunities add another layer. Roles such as wellbeing ambassadors signal that the school expects pupils to contribute to the community and practise responsibility, not only collect rewards for compliance.

Granville Academy is an 11–16 secondary in Woodville, Swadlincote, serving families across this part of Derbyshire and nearby areas. As the school sits on a main road corridor, the day-to-day experience for many families is shaped by travel logistics and safe routines around drop-off and collection.

Precise start and finish times, and any breakfast or after-school provision, were not available in the accessible official material used for this review. Families who need wraparound care should check current arrangements directly with the school before relying on it for work patterns.

• Consistency across subjects. The direction of travel is positive, but the school is still working on ensuring the curriculum is implemented consistently well in every subject; in some cases, work has not always matched pupils’ prior knowledge closely enough. This matters most for families with higher prior-attaining pupils who need reliable stretch.

• A small group missing learning time. A minority of pupils are described as missing too much learning due to behaviour or absence. Parents should ask how attendance and behaviour support escalates, and what the school does to prevent small issues becoming patterns.

• 11–16 transition at Year 11. As there is no sixth form, families need to plan early for post-16 routes. The school’s careers work is an asset, but parents should still engage actively in the Year 9 and Year 10 guidance cycle so choices remain open.

Granville Academy is a local, comprehensive 11–16 with a clear improvement story and a culture anchored in high expectations, strong routines, and positive relationships. The latest inspection profile is reassuring, and the academic indicators point to above-average progress overall.

Who it suits: families who want a structured school day, clear expectations on behaviour, and a curriculum designed to build knowledge over time, with enrichment that includes travel, performance, and leadership opportunities. The main question for prospective parents is consistency, particularly how reliably stretch and challenge show up across all subjects for higher prior-attaining pupils.