Ercall Wood Academy Review 2026: A busy Wellington secondary with clear routines, growing facilities, and competitive entry

A school that is expanding, in both size and ambition. Ercall Wood Academy sits in Wellington, serving a mixed 11–16 intake and operating at a published capacity of 1,200. The leadership message is consistent across school communications, values-led routines, a focus on character, and a strong emphasis on inclusion and belonging. The academy is also in the middle of a significant site upgrade, including a three-storey science facility and wider campus improvements that are designed to add places and modernise teaching spaces.

Admission is competitive. For Year 7 entry, there were 386 applications for 205 offers in the most recent local demand data provided, which equates to roughly 1.88 applications per offer.

Ercall Wood’s stated identity is built around three values, Empower, Respect, Aspire. Those values are not treated as background branding, they sit at the centre of how the academy describes behaviour, routines, and student leadership.

Leadership is currently under Principal Nick Murphy, who is named as principal on the academy website and in the latest Ofsted report. An internal trust communication from September 2023 indicates he moved into the principal role at that point, which helps explain why school communications emphasise a clear reset around routines and student culture.

A strong thread running through the academy’s public messaging is inclusion. The most recent Ofsted report describes a friendly culture, with pupils feeling safe and staff support being readily available. That aligns with the academy’s emphasis on student voice, including a structured student leadership approach intended to give pupils practical responsibilities such as supporting large events and representing peers.

There is also a visible “community-facing” element to the school’s narrative. Examples include school-hosted events that bring local residents into the building, and a practical focus on offering structured after-school activities as part of routine, rather than as an occasional add-on.

This is an 11–16 school with no sixth form, so the key public outcomes are GCSE measures and associated progress indicators.

Ranked 2,940th in England and 6th in Telford for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data)

This performance sits below England average, placing it in the lower band of the national distribution.

On the core measures provided, the academy’s Attainment 8 score is 40.5, and Progress 8 is -0.12, which indicates that, on average, pupils make slightly less progress than peers with similar starting points. The school’s average EBacc APS is 3.59, and 7.4% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure provided.

For parents comparing local options, the FindMySchool Local Hub pages and Comparison Tool can help you view these indicators side-by-side with other nearby secondaries, which is often more useful than looking at any single score in isolation.

Two context points matter here.

First, the academy is expanding and remodelling parts of the site, including science provision, which can be a leading indicator of investment in curriculum delivery and staffing capacity.

Second, demand for places is strong, which tends to correlate with a stable intake from local feeder primaries and a consistent Year 7 entry profile.

The curriculum is positioned as broad and practical, with a mix of academic and applied subjects. Public curriculum navigation indicates subject breadth including English, mathematics, science, modern foreign languages, geography, history, ethics and religious studies, ICT, product design, food technology, music, drama, dance, health and social care, and relationships and sex education.

In English, the department explicitly references enrichment as part of the offer, including activities such as Debating Club and Book Club. In practice, the academy’s enrichment model appears to do two jobs at once: it creates structured social belonging, and it provides supported time for independent study. Homework Club and a dedicated Science Homework Club are both listed on the after-school timetable, which is relevant for families where home study space is limited.

The physical environment also matters for teaching quality. The academy describes specialist rooms and performance spaces, plus major investment in science and ICT. A refurbished and expanded science offer is a practical advantage for lesson quality, particularly for practical work and smaller group rotation.

Where Students Go Next

With an upper age of 16, the key transition is post-16 choice. The academy’s careers section claims Gatsby Benchmarks at 100% across the board, indicating a structured careers programme aligned to the national framework for career guidance.

In practical terms, families should expect three main routes after Year 11: school sixth forms elsewhere in the area, sixth form colleges, and vocational or apprenticeship pathways. The academy’s emphasis on employability and careers suggests it wants students to make deliberate choices rather than defaulting.

If you are a Year 9 or Year 10 family already thinking ahead, it is worth asking how the school supports:

• employer encounters and workplace experiences

• subject choices connected to post-16 routes

• targeted guidance for students considering apprenticeships, not only A-levels

Those details are often decisive at 14–16, even more than general statements about careers education.

Ercall Wood Academy is a state-funded secondary, so there are no tuition fees. Entry is through the Local Authority coordinated process for Year 7.

Demand is high. The most recent admissions-demand snapshot provided shows 386 applications and 205 offers, with the entry route labelled Oversubscribed and a subscription proportion of 1.88 applications per offer.

For September 2026 entry (children born 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2015), the Local Authority deadline was 31 October 2025. The same Local Authority booklet states outcome letters were issued 27 February 2026, with acceptance forms due by 4pm on 9 March 2026.

Open events matter because they are where families learn about behaviour culture, SEND support, and the day-to-day rhythm. For September 2026 entry, the Local Authority booklet lists guided tours in early October 2025 and an open evening on Thursday 2 October 2025 (6pm to 8pm). Since those dates are now in the past, the safest assumption is that open events typically run in early October each year; families should check the academy’s current listings for the next cycle.

A practical tip: if you are assessing chances based on proximity, use the FindMySchool Map Search to check distances precisely. In this case, the “last distance offered” figure is not available in the supplied dataset, so families should rely on the Local Authority’s published criteria and annual allocation outcomes rather than informal assumptions.

Pastoral is framed around structure and consistency: clear routines, a visible student leadership model, and an explicit link between values and behaviour. The house system is a major organising feature, with four houses, Burrow, Storey, Ennis, and Farah, designed to build belonging and run competitions across academic and sport activity.

The latest inspection evidence points to pupils feeling safe and supported, which is one of the most meaningful indicators for families weighing a mainstream secondary. That matters most for transition into Year 7, where confidence, peer relationships, and routines can be as important as subject choice.

The transition programme is described as active and hands-on. The academy states that a transition team visits pupils in their primary schools during the spring term of Year 6, and that both pastoral and SEND staff are involved in handover discussions with Year 6 teachers to plan support.

The academy’s enrichment offer is unusually concrete, with a published weekly timetable of after-school activity that runs until 4.00pm. This is useful because it shows what is actually on, rather than simply stating that enrichment exists.

Examples of named activities include:

• School Musical and Rock School, offering performance routes for students who want to commit beyond lesson time

• STEM Club for Years 7 to 9, which is a sensible bridge between Key Stage 3 curiosity and later GCSE option choices

• Duke of Edinburgh listed for Year 9, which can suit students who respond well to structured responsibility and incremental challenge

• Library and Chess Club, Homework Club, and Science Homework Club, which are particularly valuable for students who benefit from quiet working space and routine support

• Sport options such as football, volleyball, badminton, rugby, handball, and girls football, suggesting a mix of team and individual pathways

Facilities reinforce that offer. The academy describes a full-size sports hall, an all-weather multi games area, a track and field area, dedicated music rooms and soundproofed practice rooms, a theatre space with sound and lighting systems, and a sprung-floor dance studio.

For many families, the implication is straightforward: students can find structured belonging beyond the timetable, without needing to wait until sixth form or external clubs to specialise.

The school day begins with line-up at 8.45am and registration at 8.50am, with lessons running through to the end of Period 5 just after 3.00pm (varying slightly by year group).

After-school sessions run 3.10pm to 4.00pm, with a published timetable of clubs and study support. The academy site lists term-time opening hours as 8am to 4pm, which aligns with the after-school enrichment structure.

For transport and travel, the school is in Wellington, with a local catchment context shaped by the Local Authority’s shared catchment mapping. Families should expect that home-to-school travel planning, including walking routes and bus options, will be part of the admissions decision, especially if you are considering a non-catchment preference.

• Competitive entry. With 1.88 applications per offer in the latest demand snapshot, admission is not a formality. Families should make realistic preference choices and understand the Local Authority criteria and timeline.

• Progress indicators are slightly below average. A Progress 8 score of -0.12 suggests that outcomes, on average, are a little behind peers with similar starting points. The right question to ask is what support and teaching adjustments are in place for students who arrive behind in literacy or numeracy.

• No sixth form. Post-16 transition happens at 16, so families should look at local sixth form and college pathways early, ideally from Year 9 options onwards.

• A changing site can feel disruptive for some students. The upside is clear investment in science, dining, and sport facilities. The trade-off can be short-term change as building work completes and spaces are repurposed.

Ercall Wood Academy is a values-led, oversubscribed Wellington secondary that is investing heavily in facilities and putting structure around student culture. It will suit families who want an 11–16 school with clear routines, a defined house identity, and a tangible enrichment timetable that includes both clubs and supervised study. Securing admission is the hurdle; once in, the question becomes whether your child will thrive within the academy’s structured expectations and make full use of the support on offer.