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City of Derby Academy

Academy sponsor led in Derby, DE24 3AR, taking ages 11 to 16, 925 on roll.

Requires improvement Ofsted, May 2024
2.88 mi Admitted from, 2026/27
88% Full
34.8 Attainment 8, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In 2026/27, the furthest child offered a place lived 2.88 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.

The circle is 2.88 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2026/27.

City of Derby Academy: 2.88 miles, 2026/27 Akaal Primary School: 1.38 miles, 2026/27, published by Derby

This is not a catchment area. 2.88 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When City of Derby Academy is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.

Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.

Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.

The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.

One published year so far: 2026/27, from Derby. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.

Source: Derby, published admission distances, 2026/27

Where City of Derby Academy and Akaal Primary School are both in reach

Both distances are drawn on the map above. Akaal Primary School admitted from 1.38 miles in 2026/27, published by Derby. Its own page has the rest of its figures.

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside both published distances, cheapest first by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is DE23 at £247,500. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.

DistrictAreaFrom City of Derby AcademyFrom Akaal Primary SchoolMedian sold price
DE23 Derby 1.8 mi 0.5 mi £247,500 124 sales

Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Distances measured from each district's centre to each school's point on the Department for Education register.

Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.

Drop Akaal Primary School and go back to one school.

If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Derby, 65 of 309 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (21.0%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.

Other schools nearby with a published distance

The closest schools to City of Derby Academy that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
Ash Croft Primary Academy Both in reach Primary 0.77 mi 2026/27 0.2 mi
Redwood Primary School Both in reach Primary 2.59 mi 2026/27 0.4 mi
Grampian Primary Academy Both in reach Primary 2.5 mi 2026/27 0.6 mi
Cottons Farm Primary Academy Both in reach Primary 2.07 mi 2026/27 0.8 mi
Akaal Primary School Both in reach Primary 1.38 mi 2026/27 1.4 mi
St George's Catholic Voluntary Academy Both in reach Primary 1.44 mi 2026/27 1.4 mi

The distance as a picture

City of Derby Academy catchment area map: the 2.88 mile admission distance, 2026/27 and the postcode districts inside it
Drawn to scale from the published figure, with the districts whose centre falls inside. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 925 pupils in 1,050 places (88% full)
TrustTAPESTRY LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
Local authorityDerby

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Requires improvement, inspected 07 May 2024
Attainment 8 34.8 (2024/25)
YearProgress 8
2024/25 not published
2023/24 -0.56
2022/23 -0.80

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to City of Derby Academy

Girls and boys50.6% girls, 49.4% boys
English as an additional language51.2% of pupils
Free school meals57.6% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Where City of Derby Academy's Year 11 went next

Stayed for the sixth form15.5%
Sixth-form college0.6%
Further education college55.8%
Apprenticeship0.6%
Employment3.3%
No sustained destination recorded17.7%

DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.

What it costs to live within reach of City of Derby Academy

Cheapest district inside the 2.88 miles: DE24, median £161,000. Dearest: DE23, £247,500.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
DE24 Derby 1.9 mi £161,000 97 sales
DE23 Derby 1.8 mi £247,500 124 sales
How to read this

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 2.88 miles the school admitted from in 2026/27, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.

Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide

Getting to City of Derby Academy by bus

Best-served stop: Harrier Way, 0.2 mi away, with 10.1 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 05:40, last 23:26.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Falcon Way79 yd4.82.02.038
Community School124 yd0.20.00.07
Community School0.1 mi4.52.02.038, 7

These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.

Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing City of Derby Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around DE24: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at DE24 3AR, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for City of Derby Academy?

City of Derby Academy does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2026/27 lived 2.88 miles away, per Derby.

How close do I need to live to get a place at City of Derby Academy?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 2.88 miles was enough in 2026/27. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.

Does buying a house near City of Derby Academy guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Every Derby school's distance

All Derby schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Put City of Derby Academy's figure on your own site

A small badge with the published distance that links back here, for a school website, parents' group or forum.

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City of Derby Academy badge

Admission distance published by Derby. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.