Orchard Mead Academy

About Orchard Mead Academy

If you're a parent considering Orchard Mead Academy, the first thing you'll notice is that it's a popular choice locally. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 250 applications for 203 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.23. That means for every place available, just over one family applied, and 150 of those applicants listed it as their first preference. It's a sign that the school holds a solid reputation among families in Leicester, even if it isn't the most oversubscribed secondary in the area. The school is a mixed, non-religious state secondary for pupils aged 11 to 16, with no sixth form. It's led by headteacher Subrina Johal and currently has 1,045 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,200, so there is some room to grow. A significant proportion of pupils — 37.8 per cent — are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average and gives you a sense of the community it serves.

Academically, the picture is more mixed. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, the school was rated Good overall, with Good marks for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. That's a notable improvement from its previous inspection in 2016, when it was rated Inadequate. However, the exam results tell a different story. Orchard Mead's Progress 8 score is -0.69, which is well below average nationally and ranks it 18th out of 20 secondaries in Leicester. The local authority average Progress 8 is 0.12, so pupils here make significantly less progress than their peers in other Leicester schools. The Attainment 8 score is 37, and only 27.6 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. The EBacc average point score is 3.43, and just 12.3 per cent entered for the full EBacc. These figures place the school in the bottom 50 nationally for progress.

On the practical side, Orchard Mead offers a strong range of facilities, including a swimming pool, sports hall, theatre, astro turf, music rooms, and art studios. There are plenty of clubs too, from Science Club and Drama to Chess, Art Club, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Sports on offer include hockey, football, rugby, basketball, swimming, and gymnastics. The school has a broad SEND provision, covering areas like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. This makes it a potentially good fit for families whose children need additional support. The school is oversubscribed, so if you're considering it, you'll want to make sure you meet the admissions criteria. It's not the strongest performer academically in Leicester, but for families who value the facilities, the range of extracurriculars, and the inclusive SEND support, it could be a solid option.

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