SCHOOL PROFILE

St James Academy

Secondary Academy converter URN 144657
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 900 Published school capacity
Capacity used 96.3% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 16 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

4 June 2024
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character —
Local authority Dudley
Trust DUDLEY ACADEMIES TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 867 867 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 432 49.8% of pupils
Male pupils 435 50.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

50.1%
25.3 pts above England
School 50.1%
Dudley 27.8%
West Midlands 30.6%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

34.6%
14.3 pts above England
School 34.6%
Dudley 13.2%
West Midlands 22.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.1%
0.9 pts below England
School 0.1%
Dudley 0.2%
West Midlands 0.6%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
32.9%
285
Pakistani
14.9%
129
African
12.6%
109
Any other White background
5.4%
47
White and Black Caribbean
5.3%
46
Indian
5.2%
45
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 15.2% 132 of 867 pupils
5.6 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 15.2%
Dudley 20.7%
West Midlands 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 12.7% 110 pupils
England 14.8% 2.1 pts below
EHC plans 2.5% 22 pupils
England 6.0% 3.5 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Moderate learning difficulty 71
Social, emotional & mental health 34
Speech, language & communication 15
Specific learning difficulty 7
Autistic spectrum disorder 2
Other difficulty or disability 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

36.8 2.4 pts below England
School 36.8
Dudley 36.2
West Midlands 38.3
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 37.3% England 36.0% 1.3 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 47.7% England 51.4% 3.7 pts below England
EBacc entry 37.9% England 30.6% 7.3 pts above England
EBacc average point score 3.32 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: -0.11 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.

ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

11.51%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

5.29 pts higher than England
School 11.51%
Dudley 6.50%
West Midlands 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

35.24%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

19.42 pts higher than England
School 35.24%
Dudley 17.87%
West Midlands 16.42%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

9.52%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

7.72 pts higher than England
School 9.52%
Dudley 2.10%
West Midlands 1.82%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

96.3% 4.0 pts above England
St James Academy
96.3%
Dudley
95.0%
West Midlands
94.1%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information