St James Academy
Secondary · Academy converter · Ages 11–16 · Dudley
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
2.20 miles
Published by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council · offers on 2 March 2026
2023–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
St James Academy is a secondary school in Dudley for ages 11–16 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Good, from the inspection on 4 June 2024. Dudley has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2023 to 2026 entry.
St James Academy catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | 2.20 mi |
| Year 7 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2024 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2023 | 🔒 With a pass |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- 50.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, with 20.3 pupils per teacher; the middle figures across the 8 nearest secondary schools in Dudley are 37% and 16.2.
- In 2026 the last child offered a Year 7 place lived 2.20 miles away, the 3rd longest of 10 Dudley secondary schools with a published Year 7 2026 last distance.
- Year 7 2026 had 139 first-choice applications for 176 offers; 136 went to first-choice families, and 3 first-choice families (2%) were not offered a place.
- In 2024/25, 37% of pupils got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%), with an Attainment 8 score of 36.8 (England 46).
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Dudley schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- St James's Road, Dudley, DY1 3JE
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–16
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Council
- Dudley
- Pupils on roll
- 867 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 50.1% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 20.3
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Good Inspected 4 June 2024
Strengths
- “St James Academy is an inclusive and welcoming school.”
- “Pupils are courteous and polite.”
- “They are rewarded for showing good manners and they warmly welcome visitors to the school.”
To improve
- “However, there is more work to do to ensure that a greater number of pupils benefit from this extracurricular offer.”
- “When pupils do not have their usual teacher, or tasks are not adapted to meet pupils’ needs, low-level disruption can occur.”
- “Despite this, some pupils do not attend school regularly, which creates noticeable gaps in their learning.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 1 July 2024 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 37% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 36.8 | 46 |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 139 first-preference applications, 176 offers in total, 136 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Dudley.
- Bishop Milner Catholic College 0.7 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Pegasus Academy 0.8 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- The Link Academy 1.4 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Beacon Hill Academy 1.6 mi Good Last distance published
- Ellowes Hall Sports College 1.9 mi Good Last distance published
- The Dormston School 2.3 mi Good Last distance published
- The Crestwood School 3.0 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Thorns Collegiate Academy 3.3 mi Requires improvement Last distance published