Woodkirk Academy

Woodkirk Academy continues to demonstrate a good level of performance as a school. Pupils are happy, feel safe, and engage well with their education, supported by a strong ethos emphasizing kindness, hard work, and responsibility. The leadership team's commitment to high academic standards and personal development is evident in the broad curriculum offered, as well as in the various extra-curricular activities that enrich students' experiences. The school's behavior management strategies are generally effective, contributing to a positive learning environment.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-sequenced across all age groups.
• High-quality careers guidance is provided from the moment pupils join the school.
• Leaders have high expectations for pupil behavior and maintain a respectful school ethos.
• Pupils have access to a wide variety of extracurricular opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent assessment practices hinder understanding of knowledge retention in some subjects.
• A significant minority of pupils struggle with behavior management, leading to missed learning opportunities.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Woodkirk Academy attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 5.9% of pupils at Woodkirk Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Woodkirk Academy had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 6.4% of pupils at Woodkirk Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Woodkirk Academy received £7,871 and spent £7,421 for each of its 1,777 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,013,000 (£1,133 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Leodis Academies Trust, income was £7,556 and spending £7,233 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Wakefield · Leeds local authority: places and applications

Woodkirk Academy is part of Leodis Academies Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Westerton Primary Academy Wakefield
• Blackgates Primary Academy Wakefield
• Hill Top Primary Academy Wakefield
• East Ardsley Primary Academy Wakefield

What is Woodkirk Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Woodkirk Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Woodkirk Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Woodkirk Academy was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Woodkirk Academy have?

Woodkirk Academy has 1,769 pupils on roll.

What age range does Woodkirk Academy cover?

Woodkirk Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Woodkirk Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.3, and 58% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Woodkirk Academy?

Woodkirk Academy is at Rein Road, Tingley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF3 1JQ.