Best secondary schools in Staffordshire (2026)
Staffordshire has 68 ranked secondary schools with published results. The top-ranked is St Joseph's College, in the top 6% in England. The average Attainment 8 here in 2025 was 43.5, against 46.1 for England. 1 are in England's top 10%, and 1 are rated Outstanding by Ofsted. There is 1 grammar school.
| Rank | School | Attainment 8 (2023–2025 average) | Attainment 8 2025 | Trend | Grade 5+ Eng & maths | Ofsted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Top 6% in England |
St Joseph's College Stoke-on-Trent · Grammar · Roman Catholic |
63.0 | 62.4 | 78% | Not judged | |
2 Top 12% in England |
Painsley Catholic College Cheadle (Staffordshire Moorlands) · Roman Catholic |
57.7 | 58.8 | 64% | Good | |
3 Top 13% in England |
The Friary School Lichfield |
57.3 | 57.8 | 66% | No rating | |
4 Top 16% in England |
John Taylor High School Barton-under-Needwood |
54.8 | 54.8 | 64% | Not judged | |
5 Top 20% in England |
King Edward VI School Lichfield |
52.7 | 52.2 | 58% | No rating | |
6 Top 21% in England |
Blessed William Howard Catholic School Stafford · Roman Catholic |
53.3 | 52.0 | 52% | No rating | |
7 Top 23% in England |
Madeley High School Madeley |
51.2 | 49.5 | 55% | No rating | |
8 Top 29% in England |
Endon High School Endon |
49.5 | 54.2 | 64% | Good | |
9 Top 31% in England |
Kinver High School and Sixth Form Kinver |
50.0 | 50.9 | 49% | Good | |
10 Top 31% in England |
Kingsmead School Cannock |
51.0 | 48.5 | 40% | Report card | |
11 Top 32% in England |
Wolgarston High School Penkridge |
49.6 | 47.6 | 47% | Report card | |
12 Top 34% in England |
Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy Burton upon Trent · Roman Catholic |
48.4 | 46.7 | 46% | Outstanding | |
13 Top 35% in England |
Erasmus Darwin Academy Burntwood |
49.1 | 47.8 | 45% | No rating | |
14 Top 37% in England |
Walton High School Stafford |
49.2 | 50.6 | 50% | No rating | |
15 Top 39% in England |
Trentham Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
48.8 | 46.6 | 44% | Report card | |
16 Top 40% in England |
Alleyne's Academy Stone (Stafford) |
48.1 | 47.7 | 49% | No rating | |
17 Top 45% in England |
Blythe Bridge High School Blythe Bridge |
47.2 | 46.6 | 41% | Report card | |
18 Top 45% in England |
John Taylor Free School Burton upon Trent |
46.6 | 46.4 | 48% | Good | |
19 Top 47% in England |
Sir Graham Balfour High School Stafford |
47.0 | 45.0 | 38% | No rating | |
20 Top 49% in England |
The de Ferrers Academy Burton upon Trent |
45.6 | 46.5 | 48% | Good | |
21 Bottom 50% in England |
Landau Forte Academy, QEMS Tamworth |
47.5 | 49.6 | 39% | Good | |
22 Bottom 49% in England |
Thistley Hough Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
45.8 | 47.9 | 52% | Report card | |
23 Bottom 49% in England |
Codsall Community High School Codsall |
46.1 | 47.5 | 48% | Good | |
24 Bottom 47% in England |
Cheslyn Hay Academy Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay |
46.0 | 42.1 | 32% | Report card | |
25 Bottom 46% in England |
The Weston Road Academy Stafford |
45.0 | 44.7 | 46% | No rating | |
26 Bottom 45% in England |
Clayton Hall Academy Newcastle-under-Lyme |
45.3 | 45.8 | 39% | Good | |
27 Bottom 44% in England |
The Hart School Cannock Chase |
45.9 | 46.5 | 42% | No rating | |
28 Bottom 43% in England |
Westwood College Leek |
44.4 | 44.2 | 40% | Requires improvement | |
29 Bottom 42% in England |
Moorside High School Werrington |
44.1 | 45.4 | 45% | Good | |
30 Bottom 42% in England |
Lift Rawlett Tamworth |
44.4 | 45.1 | 44% | Not judged | |
31 Bottom 41% in England |
Wombourne High School Wombourne |
43.8 | 42.1 | 39% | Good | |
32 Bottom 40% in England |
Thomas Alleyne's High School Uttoxeter |
44.4 | 45.1 | 40% | No rating | |
33 Bottom 40% in England |
Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent Stoke-on-Trent |
44.1 | 42.7 | 38% | No rating | |
34 Bottom 39% in England |
Chase Terrace Academy Burntwood |
43.7 | 44.3 | 36% | Not judged | |
35 Bottom 37% in England |
St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy Stoke-on-Trent · Roman Catholic |
43.0 | 43.0 | 40% | Report card | |
36 Bottom 36% in England |
Biddulph High School Biddulph |
43.3 | 43.3 | 36% | No rating | |
37 Bottom 34% in England |
Cannock Chase High School Cannock |
43.0 | 42.1 | 38% | No rating | |
38 Bottom 31% in England |
Cardinal Griffin Catholic College Cannock · Roman Catholic |
42.4 | 43.6 | 36% | No rating | |
39 Bottom 31% in England |
Chesterton Community Sports College Newcastle-under-Lyme |
43.8 | 41.2 | 23% | Good | |
40 Bottom 29% in England |
The Orme Academy Newcastle-under-Lyme |
42.3 | 43.8 | 35% | Good | |
41 Bottom 28% in England |
St John Fisher Catholic College Newcastle-under-Lyme · Catholic |
41.8 | 41.8 | 35% | Requires improvement | |
42 Bottom 28% in England |
Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
41.1 | 41.0 | 35% | No rating | |
43 Bottom 26% in England |
Ormiston Meridian Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
41.1 | 40.2 | 34% | Report card | |
44 Bottom 25% in England |
St Thomas More Catholic Academy Stoke-on-Trent · Roman Catholic |
41.6 | 43.4 | 36% | No rating | |
45 Bottom 23% in England |
Paulet High School Burton upon Trent |
41.8 | 41.0 | 30% | Good | |
46 Bottom 20% in England |
The Excel Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
39.8 | 37.5 | 29% | No rating | |
47 Bottom 19% in England |
Landau Forte Academy, Amington Tamworth |
39.8 | 40.0 | 31% | Good | |
48 Bottom 19% in England |
The Cheadle Academy Cheadle (Staffordshire Moorlands) |
40.7 | 40.0 | 31% | No rating | |
49 Bottom 18% in England |
Abbot Beyne School Burton upon Trent |
40.1 | 39.4 | 26% | No rating | |
50 Bottom 15% in England |
The King's CofE Academy Kidsgrove · Church of England |
39.3 | 40.1 | 27% | No rating | |
51 Bottom 14% in England |
Nether Stowe School Lichfield |
39.2 | 38.7 | 24% | Report card | |
52 Bottom 13% in England |
Great Wyrley Academy Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay |
38.4 | 39.0 | 26% | Good | |
53 Bottom 13% in England |
The Wilnecote School Tamworth |
38.5 | 38.7 | 24% | Good | |
54 Bottom 13% in England |
Sir Thomas Boughey Academy Halmer End and Alsagers Bank |
38.2 | 35.1 | 18% | Report card | |
55 Bottom 12% in England |
Paget High School Burton upon Trent |
38.1 | 38.5 | 32% | Good | |
56 Bottom 12% in England |
Discovery Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
37.4 | 37.4 | 28% | Requires improvement | |
57 Bottom 9% in England |
King Edward VI High School Stafford |
37.1 | 33.4 | 16% | Not judged | |
58 Bottom 8% in England |
Ormiston Horizon Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
36.2 | 37.3 | 29% | Good | |
59 Bottom 7% in England |
St Peter's CofE Academy Stoke-on-Trent · Church of England |
36.0 | 34.4 | 19% | Not judged | |
60 Bottom 7% in England |
The Rural Enterprise Academy Rodbaston |
36.5 | 37.6 | 17% | Inadequate | |
61 Bottom 6% in England |
Kidsgrove Secondary School Kidsgrove |
36.4 | 35.9 | 15% | Good | |
62 Bottom 6% in England |
Lift Tamworth Tamworth |
35.5 | 36.1 | 23% | Not judged | |
63 Bottom 6% in England |
Haywood Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
35.7 | 36.1 | 17% | Good | |
64 Bottom 5% in England |
Norton Canes High School Norton Canes |
36.0 | 34.8 | 18% | Requires improvement | |
65 Bottom 4% in England |
Leek High School Leek |
33.7 | 38.1 | 26% | Requires improvement | |
66 Bottom 3% in England |
Staffordshire University Academy Cannock |
34.3 | 32.9 | 10% | Good | |
67 Bottom 3% in England |
Newcastle Academy Newcastle-under-Lyme |
33.4 | 37.6 | 32% | Good | |
68 Bottom 2% in England |
Birches Head Academy Stoke-on-Trent |
30.8 | 31.3 | 17% | Report card |
Best secondary school in each town
- Stoke-on-Trent · best: St Joseph's College
- Lichfield · best: The Friary School
- Stafford · best: Blessed William Howard Catholic School
- Cannock · best: Kingsmead School
- Burton upon Trent · best: Blessed Robert Sutton Catholic Voluntary Academy
- Tamworth · best: Landau Forte Academy, QEMS
- Newcastle-under-Lyme · best: Clayton Hall Academy
Also see
Questions
What is the best secondary school in Staffordshire?
On exam results over the last three years, St Joseph's College is the top-ranked secondary school in Staffordshire, in the top 6% of schools in England.
How are the schools ranked?
By published Department for Education exam results averaged over three years: for secondary schools, Attainment 8 plus a quarter of the share getting grade 5+ in English and maths; for primary schools, the share reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths plus half the share reaching the higher standard. The order uses the three-year average, so a school can rank above one with a higher single-year result. Schools with fewer than 10 pupils taking the tests are not ranked. Exam results are only part of the picture: visit, read the Ofsted report and check admissions rules, as living nearby does not guarantee a place.