It caters for children aged 3 to 19 and has 1,883 pupils on roll as of September 2023[update].

[1] The history of senior school education in Swindon can be traced back to the 19th century.

[5] It operates on a non-denominational basis, but follows the Christian, specifically Church of England, ethos of its parent organisation.

[contradictory] From the formation of the Swindon LEA in 1997 until the school's closure in 2006, Headlands was consistently 2nd from bottom (1998 and 1999) or bottom (2000 onwards) of the Swindon schools league table when based on Level 2 results (5+ GCSEs at grades A*-C).

The academy achieved a score 72% for five A*–C grades at GCSE,[9] although the number achieving five A*–C grade GCSEs (or equivalent) including maths and English is 37%, or 31% if GCSE equivalents are excluded.