The Wordsley School

About The Wordsley School

The Wordsley School is a mixed state secondary for pupils aged 11 to 16, serving the Dudley area. With 147 places available for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 245 total applications, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.67 applicants per place. Of those, 122 were first-preference offers, indicating solid local demand. The school’s intake reflects a community with above-average economic disadvantage compared to the national picture, though exact free school meal percentages are not provided in the data. Its capacity and application figures suggest a school that is well-regarded enough locally to fill its places comfortably, but without the extreme pressure seen at some higher-performing Dudley secondaries. The headteacher, Ashley Weatherhogg, leads a school that has moved on from a previous Requires Improvement rating, a point that will be explored further in its academic outcomes.

Academically, The Wordsley School’s most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2015 rated it Good overall, with leadership and management also judged Good. Its Progress 8 score for the 2023/24 academic year was -0.36, which is below the Dudley local authority average of -0.08 and places the school in the bottom 50 nationally. The Attainment 8 score sits at 37, and the basics measure for grade 4 or above in English and maths reached 49.1%, while the stronger grade 5 or above measure was 30.3%. The EBacc entry rate is low at 4.8%, and only 2.4% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. In the Dudley local authority rankings, the school sits 12th out of 17 schools by Progress 8, and nationally it ranks 2,370th out of 3,141. These figures point to a school where outcomes are below average, but the Good Ofsted rating suggests that leadership and behaviour are strengths.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, science labs, and music and art studios. Its clubs and sports provision are varied, with options like coding, Young Enterprise, debate, gardening, orchestra, and chess, alongside athletics, football, dance, and gymnastics. For families with children who have special educational needs, the school lists provisions for a wide spectrum including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a potentially suitable choice for parents seeking a mainstream setting with strong SEND support. The school’s oversubscription and first-preference data suggest it is a popular local option, particularly for families who value a Good-rated school with a wide range of extracurricular activities and a supportive approach to additional needs, even if academic outcomes are not the strongest in the area.

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