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State secondary · 11 to 16 · 931 pupils

Fir Vale Academy

Owler Lane, Sheffield, S4 8GB
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COULD YOUR CHILD GET IN? · YEAR 7 2027

We hold no offer-day distances for this school yet. Enter your postcode to see how far it is from your home.

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Ofsted: Requires improvement · February 2025(29/29)Fewer first choices than places (2026)
School website ↗Google Maps ↗Directions ↗Ofsted reports ↗DfE results ↗Government register ↗

Summary

The key facts, in one place
GCSE (key stage 4) The league rank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase on the newest year's DfE results, the same rank as on the Schools map. In England: 3,220th of 3,223 on the same figure. Band: Lower half.
(29/29)Rank among 29 Sheffield secondaries with results, 2026 results (Attainment 8)
See the Sheffield league table →
Inspection
Requires improvement, February 2025
Getting in
Not full for Year 7 2026
Results
23.7 attainment 8; 16% english and maths grade 5 or above
Size
931 pupils; 194 places a year; classes of 23
Run by
United Learning Trust
Type
Academy converter
Ages
11 to 16
Ofsted, February 2025The judgements from the school's latest inspection. Reports from November 2025 use Ofsted's new report card, with different headings; we show whichever the latest report uses.Read the report ↗
Quality of educationRequires improvement
Behaviour and attitudesRequires improvement
Leadership and managementRequires improvement
Strengths, and things to check
  • Attainment 8: 23.7, against 46.2 in Sheffield.
  • English and maths, grade 5+: 16%, against 48% in Sheffield.
  • Sessions missed: 23.0%, against 9.3% in Sheffield.
  • Persistently absent: 58.7%, against 27.2% in Sheffield.
Schools for usRank every school near you by the measures that matter to your family, each reason shown.Rank schools →

At a glance

Against Sheffield and England
This schoolSheffieldEnglandHover or tap a bar for the figures
Academic
Attainment 8The average GCSE score across eight subjects, including English and maths counted twice. A grade 5 in all eight would score 50.
23.7
Worse than Sheffield
English and maths, grade 5+The share of pupils with grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE (a strong pass).
16%
Worse than Sheffield
Attendance and behaviour
Sessions missedHalf-day sessions missed, authorised or not, as a share of all sessions in the school year (DfE pupil absence). Lower is better.
23.0%
Worse than Sheffield
Persistently absentPupils who missed one session in ten or more. Lower is better.
58.7%
Worse than Sheffield
Pupils and classes
Average class sizeAverage pupils per class, from the school census. Shown for context, not as a score.
22.9
Context
Free school mealsPupils eligible for free school meals. Context for reading the results, not a measure of the school.
72%
Context
Pupils for each teacherPupils on roll for each full-time teacher, from the school workforce census. Shown for context.
16.3
Context
Demand for places
First choices per placeFamilies who put this school first, for each Year 7 place in 2026 (DfE applications and offers). Above 1 means more first choices than places.
0.6
Less sought after than Sheffield
Sheffield and England: DfE's own averages for results. For the rest, the middle state secondary school of the same phase, from every school we hold, since DfE publishes no council figure we hold.Where these figures come from →

Overview

Getting in

  • 115 families put it first for 194 places; every one of them got in DfE, school applications and offers · Year 7 2026
  • We hold a catchment map for this school.
  • We can't tell how far Year 7 places reached: we hold no offer-day figures for this school. Ask the council or the school for the last distance offered.

Quality

  • Requires improvement Ofsted · inspected 25 February 2025
  • Attainment 8: 23.7 (England 47.4) (county 46.2) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • English and maths grade 5 or above: 16% (England 48%) (county 48%) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026

Daily life

  • Absence: 23% of sessions missed; 59% of pupils miss 1 in 10 or more. Schools with a similar intake: 9.7% and 29% DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level · 2024/25
  • Classes average 22.9 pupils; 8.1% of classes have more than 30 DfE, school workforce and pupil census · 2025/26
  • 16.3 pupils for each teacher DfE, school workforce · November 2025
  • Nearest stops, in a straight line: bus 135 m DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes) · within 800 m
  • 73 police-reported road collisions within 500 m (0 fatal, 21 serious) DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years · 2021 to 2025
  • Air: nitrogen dioxide 13.5 µg/m³, PM2.5 7.7 (1 km square, background level) DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps · 2024

Who runs it

  • United Learning Trust, with 98 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined July 2025
  • Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 July 2025 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced Fir Vale School (URN 138925) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 July 2025
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Getting in

How far offers reached

How far away the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, as the council measures it. It changes every year with who applies: a record, not a promise. Children with a higher priority can be offered places from further away.

Year 7. Distance of the last child offered a place on offer day. What the last distance means →

Applications and offers, DfE

EntryYearPlacesFirst choicesAny choiceFirst choices offered
Year 72026194115190115

Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence), 2026 to 2026. Families name up to three schools, so most applications are somebody's second or third choice.

Could you get in?Enter a home or postcode: we set it against every year's last offer and this school's rules.

Results

Results

MeasureThis schoolEnglandCouncilYear
Attainment 823.747.446.22025/2026
English and maths grade 5 or above16%48%48%2025/2026

Source: DfE school performance tables, 2025/2026.

League table place

TableLeague rank
GCSE (key stage 4)(29/29)

Source: DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase.

Inspections

DateKindOutcome
25 February 2025Graded inspectionQuality of education: Requires improvement

Source: Ofsted, 2025.

Sheffield league tableEvery school of this phase in the council on these results.See the table →

Daily life

Absence

YearSessions missedAuthorisedUnauthorisedPupils missing 1 in 10Pupils missing 1 in 2
2024/2523%5.9%17%59%16%
Schools with a similar intake9.7%29%

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level, 2024-25. Similar intake: state schools of the same phase with free school meals in the same band (40% or more), the median of 758 schools.

Suspensions and exclusions

YearSuspensions per 100 pupilsPupils suspendedSuspensionsPermanent exclusions
2024/25——93418
Schools with a similar intake25.9

Source: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level, 2024-25.

Class sizes and staff

MeasureFigureYear
Average class size22.92025/26
Classes over 30 pupils8.1%2025/26
Pupils for each teacher16.3November 2025

Source: DfE, school workforce; school census, 2025/26.

Stops nearby

KindNearest (metres, straight line)
bus135

Source: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes), current. A stop across a railway or main road may be a long walk. Bus frequency is not held.

Road collisions within 500 m

YearCollisions
202523
202410
202312
202214
202114

Source: DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years, 2021 to 2025. 21 serious and 0 fatal in all; 33 involved a pedestrian, 5 a cyclist. Only collisions with an injury reported to police are counted.

Air quality

PollutantAnnual mean (µg/m³)Year
NO213.52024
PM1011.72024
PM257.72024

Source: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps. A 1 km background figure: not the air at the school gate beside a busy road.

Pupils

Who goes there

MeasureShare of pupilsYear
Eligible for free school meals72%2025/26
First language other than English86%2025/26
SEN support21%2025/26
Education, health and care plan1.8%2025/26
Girls49%2025/26

Source: DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs, 2025/26.

Who runs it

Who runs it

  • United Learning Trust, with 98 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined July 2025
  • Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 July 2025 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced Fir Vale School (URN 138925) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 July 2025
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Area

Homes in reach of this schoolLook up any home near here: its sales, an open-data valuation, and which schools it keeps in reach.Search homes →

Sources

  • DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps
  • DfE school performance tables
  • DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase
  • DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence)
  • DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level
  • DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level
  • DfE, school workforce; school census
  • DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs
  • DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes)
  • DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years
  • Ofsted
  • School register: DfE Get Information about Schools (this school)
  • How we check these figures: How we know

More in schools in Sheffield and the Sheffield league table. School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.