Mercia Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Derbyshire
Sunnyside, Swadlincote, DE11 0TL
54
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Not judged
Graded 01/07/2025
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
86.9%
36.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
592
Capacity used
Has space79%
750 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
77 of 77 families who put it first got an offer
103
Places offered
161
Total applications
1.6
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 77 | 77 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 51 | 8 | ● 16% |
| 3rd preference | 32 | 1 | ● 3% |
| Later preferences | 1 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 161 | 86 | 53% |
1st preference success by year
Derbyshire lets families list 3 preferences. 3 applications came from outside the council area (2 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Nick Holmes
- Address
- Sunnyside, Newhall, Swadlincote, DE11 0TL
- Phone
- 01283216404
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Ward / constituency
- Newhall and Stanton · South Derbyshire
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 149380
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 48% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 3% | — | — |
| SEN support | 19% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: LIONHEART EDUCATIONAL TRUST
592 pupils · 750 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
01 July 2025
Full graded inspection
Not judged overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 641 pupils
Attendance
86.9%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
13.1%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
36.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
9.7%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
5.4%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 38.0 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.27 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 27% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 49% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 2.97 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 32.6 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 23.2% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 36.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 5.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.64 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 112 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 110 | 9% | 34% | 52% | |
| English Language | 110 | 4% | 23% | 34% | |
| English Literature | 110 | 4% | 24% | 38% | |
| Combined Science | 101 | 4% | 23% | 40% | |
| Business | 48 | 8% | 31% | 44% | |
| History | 45 | 13% | 20% | 29% | |
| Geography | 45 | 9% | 38% | 53% | |
| Media / Film / TV | 25 | 0% | 12% | 40% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 25 | 4% | 24% | 28% | |
| Art and Design | 23 | 17% | 74% | 96% | |
| Computer Science | 20 | 0% | 15% | 20% | |
| Drama | 16 | 6% | 56% | 81% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Derbyshire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.