Abbot Beyne School
Voluntary controlled school · sixth form · 834 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.4
Academy converter
The Friary School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,255of 1,250 places
- Free school meals
- 19.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 198
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 20 March 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Friary School (URN 124422, until 1 April 2019).
What the data says
Of the 195 pupils who finished Year 11 at The Friary School in 2023, 44% stayed on in The Friary School’s own sixth form (Staffordshire average 33%), 39% went to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 86 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 60% went to university (Staffordshire 33%, England 37%), and 25% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 57.8 against 46.1 across England and 43.9 in Staffordshire, with 66% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
French is unusually popular at GCSE: 61% of the year group took it, against 18% of pupils across England.
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 Staffordshire and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Friary School | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 195 | 9,264 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 91% | 92% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 83% | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 44% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 3% | 13% |
| — further education college | 39% | 46% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 2% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | The Friary School | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 86 | 7,985 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 87% | 81% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 60% | 33% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 25% | 11% | 19% |
| Further education | 0% | 4% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 11% | 7% |
| Employment | 24% | 33% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 14% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Friary School | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 57.8 | 43.9 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 66% | 40% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 81% | 62% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 62% | 33% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.07 | 3.78 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 20% | 23% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 48.6 | 32.9 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 60.1 | 47.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 6% | 8% | 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 | 197 | 99% | 88% | 23% | 22% | 86% |
| English Literature | 196 | 99% | 86% | 26% | 21% | 90% |
| English Language | 195 | 98% | 89% | 23% | 20% | 89% |
| Combined Science | 159 | 80% | 65% | 13% | 9% | 82% |
| History | 140 | 71% | 41% | 34% | 26% | 88% |
| French | 120 | 61% | 18% | 25% | 29% | 87% |
| Geography | 87 | 44% | 41% | 37% | 25% | 77% |
| Religious Studies | 57 | 29% | 31% | 35% | 32% | 93% |
| Fine Art | 44 | 22% | 9% | 7% | 28% | 98% |
| Physics | 35 | 18% | 23% | 49% | 46% | 97% |
| Biology | 35 | 18% | 23% | 54% | 45% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 35 | 18% | 23% | 49% | 47% | 97% |
| Film Studies | 14 | 7% | 1% | 29% | 20% | 79% |
| Music | 13 | 7% | 5% | 31% | 33% | 85% |
| Physical Education | 12 | 6% | 11% | 42% | 24% | 100% |
| Chinese | 5 | 3% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 79 | 99% | — |
| Small Business Management | 76 | 95% | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 71 | 89% | — |
| Sports Studies | 64 | 80% | — |
| Multimedia | 51 | 64% | — |
| Engineering Studies | 47 | 59% | — |
| Speech and Drama | 18 | 23% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | The Friary School | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 190 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 80 | 2,938 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 37.30 | 33.43 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | C+ | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 20% | 14% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| History | 41 | 51% | 13% |
| Sociology | 30 | 38% | 13% |
| Mathematics | 25 | 31% | 31% |
| Psychology | 24 | 30% | 23% |
| Biology | 19 | 24% | 20% |
| English Literature | 17 | 21% | 11% |
| Geography | 13 | 16% | 10% |
| Chemistry | 10 | 13% | 17% |
| Further Mathematics | 8 | 10% | 5% |
| English Language and Literature | 7 | 9% | 2% |
| Religious Studies | 6 | 8% | 4% |
| Fine Art | — | — | 3% |
| Chinese | — | — | 0% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Physics | — | — | 12% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 15 | 19% | — |
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 11 | 14% | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 10 | 13% | — |
| Speech and Drama | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Multimedia | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Applied Sciences | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Staffordshire
Alleyne's Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 846 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.7
Biddulph High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 746 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.3
Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy
Academy converter · 632 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.7
Blessed William Howard Catholic School
Academy converter · sixth form · 950 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.0
Blythe Bridge High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,049 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.6
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.