Shire Oak Academy Review 2026: Large 11 to 18 comprehensive with a sixth form bright spot

Shire Oak Academy sits in a demanding space for any secondary school, a large mixed intake, a full 11 to 18 offer, and a local community that wants a school which is calm, consistent, and ambitious. The academy’s story in 2026 is best understood as two parallel narratives. On one side, the sixth form is a clear relative strength, it is graded Good and described as more settled, with clearer curriculum thinking and tighter academic support. On the other, Years 7 to 11 are in a period of intensive improvement work following a January 2025 inspection which identified serious weaknesses in day-to-day consistency, classroom learning, and attendance, alongside a finding that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Leadership has also changed. The current headteacher is Mr Matthew Everett, appointed as the permanent headteacher in April 2025 after joining in an interim capacity earlier that year.

This is a large, modern comprehensive serving Walsall Wood and surrounding areas, with the complexity that comes with scale. Families often assess “feel” in practical terms: whether behaviour routines are predictable, whether staff responses are aligned, and whether students know exactly what is expected in corridors and classrooms. That matters particularly in a school where the inspection evidence highlights inconsistency between staff in the way expectations are applied, and disruption to learning for too many pupils.

The academy’s values framework is presented through ASPIRE, with an explicit emphasis on responsibility, integrity, and respect. There is also a distinct character strand (ASPIRE Character) which positions personal development as a taught and practised set of behaviours, leadership habits, and citizenship expectations, rather than an optional add-on.

Governance context is unusually important here. Shire Oak Academy is part of The Mercian Trust, and the academy has an Interim Executive Board in place, chaired by Professor Will Foster, with a stated remit focused on rapid and sustained improvement in education quality, safeguarding, and leadership. That is a strong signal of urgency and oversight, and it is also something parents can ask about directly when they visit, for example, what has changed in routines, staffing stability, and curriculum delivery since 2025.

Performance data in 2026 paints a challenging picture in Years 7 to 11, with the sixth form performing better relative to the main school.

GCSE outcomes and wider secondary measures

The academy’s GCSE performance indicators include an Attainment 8 score of 35.3 and a Progress 8 score of -1.01, indicating that, on average, pupils have been making substantially less progress than pupils with similar starting points.

Rankings are expressed here using FindMySchool’s England comparisons based on official data. Ranked 3,651st in England and 19th in Walsall for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking), the academy sits below England average, within the bottom 40% of secondary schools in England on this measure.

Sixth form outcomes

A-level performance measures show 3.54% of grades at A*, 5.56% at A, and 24.75% at A* to B. The England comparison is 47.2% at A* to B, which indicates the academy’s sixth form results are below the England benchmark on headline grades, even though the sixth form is judged more positively for provision and support.

The A-level ranking is 2,253rd in England and 12th in Walsall (FindMySchool ranking), again placing outcomes below England average in the sixth form results distribution.

What this means for families

The key implication is that Shire Oak’s improvement journey is not a marginal fine-tuning exercise. It is about strengthening the fundamentals, consistent classroom routines, coherent curriculum delivery, and attendance habits. The sixth form judgement suggests that where structures are tighter and curriculum planning is clearer, students benefit; the challenge is extending that reliability across Years 7 to 11.

Teaching and learning improvement is described on the academy’s own site as a structured framework (the Teaching and Learning Framework for Excellence), supported by regular professional development and a planned weekly pattern. A notable operational feature is the early finish on Wednesdays to enable staff training time, which signals a deliberate focus on improving classroom practice, rather than treating development as occasional inset activity.

The curriculum statement emphasises a broad and balanced approach, with literacy and numeracy prioritised as the gateway to access in all subjects. That aligns with the inspection evidence that reading support and the wider reading culture had been reviewed and strengthened, albeit with gaps still affecting access for some pupils.

For parents, the practical question is how these intentions translate into daily lesson experience. When visiting, it is worth probing what “consistency” looks like at classroom level: how checks for understanding are built into lessons, how students who miss learning are caught up, and how the academy ensures that subject teachers have the confidence and expertise to teach what is planned.

Shire Oak Academy has a sixth form, so “next steps” covers two main groups: those leaving after Year 11 and those leaving after Year 13.

Sixth form pathways and post-16 engagement

The sixth form is described as the exception to the wider school picture in the January 2025 evidence, with students reporting a more positive experience and better academic support, and with a Good judgement for sixth form provision.

Careers education is presented as a structured offer, including access to impartial careers guidance and an annual careers fair bringing in employers and training providers.

Post-18 destinations and progression

For the 2023/24 leavers cohort, 47% progressed to university, 25% entered employment, 10% progressed to apprenticeships, and 1% went to further education.

Oxbridge outcomes are modest in scale, reflecting a small number of applicants: two Cambridge applications, one offer, and one acceptance in the measurement period. That matters less as a headline and more as an indicator that a small number of high-attaining students do pursue the most competitive routes.

Shire Oak Academy is a state-funded academy, there are no tuition fees. Admissions are competitive in parts of Walsall, and families should treat timelines as non-negotiable.

Year 7 entry (September 2026)

Walsall’s coordinated admissions timeline for September 2026 is clearly published. The portal opened on 1 September 2025, the national closing date was 31 October 2025 (10pm), and offers were issued by email on 2 March 2026.

Walsall Council also notes that some schools require supplementary forms, and Shire Oak Academy is listed among those with forms available via school websites.

Because the dataset does not include a verified “last distance offered” figure for this academy, families should not rely on hearsay about proximity. If you are shortlisting on location, use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check your precise journey and compare it with the criteria the local authority applies in allocations.

In-year admissions

The academy manages in-year admissions directly, with waiting list processes described on its admissions page, including the principle that waiting lists are kept in admissions criteria order for oversubscribed year groups.

Sixth form entry

Sixth form applications appear to be handled directly through the academy’s application route. Specific published deadlines were not clearly displayed on the application landing page at the time of review, so families should use the school calendar and contact the sixth form team for the current cycle dates.

Pastoral systems matter in every school, but they become decisive when a school is rebuilding trust and consistency. Shire Oak sets out a structured pastoral model led by a Pastoral Manager (Mrs C. Poar), with a defined team spanning safeguarding, attendance, achievement leadership, student support roles, and targeted intervention work through the ASPIRE Centre.

There are also specific channels for support around safety and wellbeing. The academy participates in Operation Encompass, receiving confidential notification after domestic incidents where a student may have been affected, with a trained key adult (Mrs Dukes) designated to coordinate support.

Attendance is treated as a priority, with a free breakfast club open from 8:00am on school days, positioned as both wellbeing support and punctuality support.

SEND is signposted clearly, including a named SENCO (Mrs B. Patel) and a published SEND information report. Parents of students with additional needs should cross-check how classroom adjustments are implemented in practice, especially given the inspection evidence that adaptations and identification had been too inconsistent for some pupils.

Extracurricular breadth is often where a large comprehensive can shine, and Shire Oak explicitly promotes a clubs and activities offer that includes history, horse riding, cricket, coding, gardening, and gaming.

Facilities are also a distinctive part of the academy proposition. Published materials describe a rock-climbing wall, a functional gym with a group spinning room, a 28-station fitness suite, ten science labs, a sixth form independent study block, six tennis courts including astroturf, a refurbished sports hall, a library with over 10,000 books, and a performing arts and music block with individual practice rooms. There is also a named on-site social space, the Loakal cafe, alongside sixth form social space.

The implication for families is practical: a broad facilities base can offer students multiple ways to “belong”, sport, performance, fitness, and academic study space, which can be especially valuable for engagement and attendance. The inspection evidence also highlights that take-up of enrichment had been lower among more vulnerable pupils, so it is worth asking how the academy is widening participation and removing barriers, for example, through targeted invitations, staff encouragement, and practical supports.

The academy day timings are clearly published. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, form time begins at 08:35 and Period 5 ends at 15:15. On Wednesdays, the day ends earlier, with Period 5 finishing at 14:25.

For before-school provision, the academy states that a free breakfast club runs from 8:00am on school days.

Transport and travel will depend heavily on where you live in Walsall and neighbouring areas. Most families will weigh a mix of local buses, walking routes, and car drop-off practicality. Where travel time is a deciding factor, use FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature to keep a shortlist and compare realistic daily journeys side by side.

• Improvement journey and expectations. The January 2025 evidence points to inconsistency in behaviour expectations and disruption to learning for too many pupils, alongside significant work needed on attendance and curriculum delivery. Families should ask for a clear account of what has changed since 2025, and what is changing next.

• Attendance and routine. Attendance is a stated priority, and the academy has introduced supportive measures such as a free breakfast club. Parents should still be realistic that improving attendance culture takes time, and it is worth understanding how the academy works with families when patterns start to slip.

• Support for vulnerable students. The inspection evidence highlights that pupils with SEND and other vulnerable groups have not consistently received the adaptations and targeted support they need. If your child relies on specific classroom strategies, ask how staff training, SEND leadership, and monitoring now ensure consistency across subjects.

• Sixth form experience may differ from Years 7 to 11. Sixth form provision is judged more positively, and students report a more settled experience. For families considering staying on post-16, it is worth discussing sixth form expectations, subject suitability, and support structures in detail.

Shire Oak Academy is a large 11 to 18 comprehensive in a period where improvement work is central to day-to-day life. The academy combines extensive facilities and a structured pastoral framework with clear priorities around attendance, behaviour consistency, and strengthening classroom practice. Best suited to families who want a local, full secondary-to-sixth-form pathway and who are comfortable engaging actively with the school during a turnaround period, particularly if sixth form is part of the plan. The limiting factor is not opportunity, it is the pace at which consistency becomes the norm across Years 7 to 11.