Birches Head Academy
Academy converter · 925 pupils
69% stayed in education · Attainment 8 31.3
Academy special sponsor led
Portland School
- Pupils on roll
- 144of 140 places
- Free school meals
- 54.9%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 13
- Ofsted
- Inadequate, 7 December 2021Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Portland School and Specialist College (URN 124498, until 30 September 2022).
What the data says
The Department for Education has not published where Portland School’s Year 11 leavers went next, so this page relies on the school’s results and subjects.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 2.2 against 46.1 across England and 39.8 in Stoke-on-Trent, with 0% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
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.
The Department for Education has not published destination figures for this school (new school, small cohort or not a state-funded school).
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Portland School | Stoke-on-Trent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 2.2 | 39.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 33% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 54% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 0% | 28% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 0.10 | 3.38 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 85% | 38% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | — | 31.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | — | 44.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 0% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 5 | 38% | 89% | — | 20% | — |
| Mathematics | 4 | 31% | 88% | — | 22% | — |
| Art and Design | 2 | 15% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
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.