Birches Head Academy
Academy converter · 925 pupils
69% stayed in education · Attainment 8 31.3
Academy converter
The Excel Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,184of 1,200 places
- Free school meals
- 34.6%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 242
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 25 November 2021Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Holden Lane High School Specialist Sports College (URN 124385, until 1 March 2014).
What the data says
The Excel Academy has no sixth form. Of the 203 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 21% moved to a sixth form college, 51% to a further education college and 7% started an apprenticeship.
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 20% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 37.5 against 46.1 across England and 39.8 in Stoke-on-Trent, with 29% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, The Excel Academy is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Stoke-on-Trent and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Excel Academy | Stoke-on-Trent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 203 | 2,796 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 87% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 75% | 79% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 2% | 11% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 21% | 17% | 13% |
| — further education college | 51% | 49% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 4% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 9% | 10% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Excel Academy | Stoke-on-Trent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 37.5 | 39.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 33% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 54% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 31% | 28% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.06 | 3.38 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 31% | 38% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.9 | 31.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 41.1 | 44.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 6% | 24% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 241 | 100% | 88% | 7% | 22% | 59% |
| English Language | 241 | 100% | 89% | 12% | 20% | 60% |
| English Literature | 223 | 92% | 86% | 7% | 21% | 63% |
| Combined Science | 202 | 83% | 65% | 1% | 9% | 34% |
| Geography | 88 | 36% | 41% | 10% | 25% | 49% |
| Spanish | 81 | 33% | 19% | 5% | 27% | 47% |
| History | 81 | 33% | 41% | 6% | 26% | 48% |
| Religious Studies | 50 | 21% | 31% | 4% | 32% | 56% |
| Sociology | 49 | 20% | 4% | 4% | 21% | 31% |
| Art and Design | 46 | 19% | 7% | 15% | 24% | 80% |
| Biology | 37 | 15% | 23% | 19% | 45% | 70% |
| Physical Education | 32 | 13% | 11% | 38% | 24% | 78% |
| Chemistry | 26 | 11% | 23% | 27% | 47% | 96% |
| Physics | 26 | 11% | 23% | 35% | 46% | 92% |
| Photography | 23 | 10% | 6% | 22% | 19% | 100% |
| Graphic Communication | 17 | 7% | 1% | 6% | 23% | 100% |
| Textiles | 8 | 3% | 2% | 13% | 27% | 100% |
| Polish | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Management | 73 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 57 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 51 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 44 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 41 | — | — |
| Multimedia | 18 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 13 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 11 | — | — |
| Dance: General | 7 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 3 | — | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | 2 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent
Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent
Academy sponsor led · 1,300 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.7
Discovery Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,435 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.4
Haywood Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,080 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 36.1
Ormiston Horizon Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,029 pupils
78% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.3
Ormiston Meridian Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,015 pupils
73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.2
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.