South Axholme Academy

South Axholme Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across multiple domains. The school provides a warm and welcoming environment where students are supported to excel academically and develop essential personal skills. Pupils exhibit excellent behavior and are engaged in their learning, with infrequent disruptions. The school has a comprehensive personal development curriculum that prepares pupils for their future, although the sixth form provision is undergoing changes and some students do not feel fully prepared for their next steps due to a less coherent program. Leaders are actively addressing curriculum inconsistencies in a few subjects to enhance student learning outcomes.

Strengths

• High-quality education provided to all pupils.
• Outstanding behavior and attitudes among students.
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Effective communication and collaboration among staff for safeguarding and pupil support.
• Ambitious curriculum designed to build on prior knowledge.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in curriculum planning in some subjects leading to lower achievement.
• Lack of a coherent personal development program for sixth-form students.

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 South Axholme Academy attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.0% 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, 8.3% of pupils at South Axholme 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 South Axholme Academy had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.0% 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, 13.5% of pupils at South Axholme Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.2% 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 South Axholme Academy received £7,981 and spent £7,807 for each of its 914 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,058,000 (£1,158 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Isle Education Trust, income was £5,890 and spending £6,222 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 Doncaster (North Lincolnshire) · North Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

South Axholme Academy is part of Isle Education Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Epworth Primary Academy Doncaster
• Burton-Upon-Stather Primary Academy Scunthorpe
• Kirton Lindsey Primary Academy Gainsborough
• Alkborough Primary Academy Scunthorpe

What is South Axholme Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Axholme Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2023.

When was South Axholme Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

South Axholme Academy was last inspected in March 2023.

How many pupils does South Axholme Academy have?

South Axholme Academy has 910 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Axholme Academy cover?

South Axholme Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are South Axholme Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 47.9, and 51% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is South Axholme Academy?

South Axholme Academy is at Burnham Road, Epworth, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN9 1BY.