Trentham Academy

About Trentham Academy

Trentham Academy is a mixed secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent for pupils aged 11 to 16, and it is currently oversubscribed by a significant margin. With 782 pupils on roll against a capacity of 750, the school is running slightly above its official limit, and the demand is clear: for 154 places available in the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 473 total applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.07. Of those, 162 families put it as their first preference, and 142 first-preference offers were made. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 15.7%, which is above the national average for secondary schools but not unusual for the local authority context. The school has no religious character and no sixth form, so pupils move on after Year 11. Headteacher Emma Wagg leads a school that has clearly become a popular choice in the area, and the numbers suggest it is drawing families from across Stoke-on-Trent.

Academically, Trentham Academy performs well above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.21 means pupils here make around a fifth of a grade more progress per subject than the national average, and this places the school third out of 13 secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent. For context, the local authority average Progress 8 score is -0.47, so Trentham is comfortably ahead of its peers. The Attainment 8 score is 50.8, and 71.9% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, with 52.9% reaching grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 4.58, and 40.5% of pupils entered the EBacc suite of subjects. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2021, the school was rated Good overall, with Outstanding marks for personal development and for leadership and management. This is a notable improvement from its previous inspection in 2016, when it was rated Requires Improvement.

The school offers a strong range of facilities, including a swimming pool, sports hall, astro turf, theatre, and music rooms, and there are plenty of extracurricular options such as rowing, rugby, Duke of Edinburgh, and Young Enterprise. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists provisions for autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, dyslexia, and physical disabilities, among others. The school is oversubscribed, so families applying from outside the catchment area should be aware that first-preference applications outnumber places. Trentham Academy suits families looking for a non-selective, co-educational state school that delivers above-average academic progress and has a strong focus on personal development, all within a city setting. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is St Joseph's College, 1.8 km away, but Trentham’s own Good rating with Outstanding elements makes it a strong contender in its own right.

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