Judgemeadow Community College

About Judgemeadow Community College

Judgemeadow Community College is a mixed secondary school in Leicester that serves 1,033 pupils against a capacity of 1,230, meaning it operates at around 84% of its physical space. That spare capacity is notable because the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 admissions cycle, it received 395 applications for 158 places, an oversubscription ratio of 2.5 to one, with only 88 first-preference offers made. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 23.8%, which is significantly above the national average of roughly 14% and suggests the school draws from a catchment with higher-than-average levels of economic disadvantage. Despite this, the school has been rated Good by Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in October 2022, a marked improvement from its previous Inadequate rating in December 2016. The headteacher, Alex Grainge, leads a school that has clearly turned around its fortunes, and the strong demand from local families reflects growing confidence in what Judgemeadow now offers.

Academically, Judgemeadow is performing well above the Leicester local authority average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.32 is classified as 'Above average' nationally and comfortably exceeds the LA average of 0.12. This places the school 8th out of 20 secondary schools in Leicester, and 56th out of 273 in the East Midlands region. In terms of Attainment 8, pupils achieved an average score of 50.8, while 73.8% of students secured a grade 4 or above in both English and maths (the basics measure). The English Baccalaureate entry rate is high at 86.7%, with 46.1% of pupils achieving the EBacc at grade 4 or above. The school’s strongest Progress 8 component is the EBacc bucket at 0.43, followed by open subjects at 0.33, maths at 0.3, and English at 0.18. These results suggest consistent added value across the curriculum, with particular strength in the EBacc subjects. The school does not have a sixth form, so pupils leave after Year 11.

Judgemeadow offers a broad range of facilities including a swimming pool, sports hall, astro turf, theatre, art studios, science labs, and a library. The sports programme covers cross country, cricket, rugby, swimming, football, hockey, martial arts, and badminton, while extracurricular clubs include art, debate, a newspaper, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and science club. The school’s SEND provisions are comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. This makes it a strong option for families whose children require additional support. The school is oversubscribed, so parents should be prepared to apply early and list it as a first preference. It suits families who want a non-faith, co-educational secondary that delivers above-average academic progress in a diverse urban setting, with good facilities and a strong track record of improvement.

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