Armthorpe Academy

Armthorpe Academy is currently rated as 'requires improvement' overall, reflecting ongoing challenges in the quality of education, behaviour, and leadership. Although the school implements an ambitious curriculum, many pupils are not achieving to their full potential due to persistent gaps in knowledge and inconsistent educational experiences. The recent focus on elevating educational standards has resulted in some positive changes, particularly for younger students, but there remains a lack of thorough reinforcement of previous learning. Furthermore, attendance, particularly among the most vulnerable pupils, continues to hinder overall achievement.

Strengths

• The school has high expectations for pupil behaviour.
• Improvements to the curriculum are starting to benefit younger pupils.
• Pupils enjoy a diverse range of enrichment activities.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Strong response to raising expectations for behaviour.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent quality of education across year groups.
• Variable recall of previously taught knowledge by pupils.
• Low attendance rates especially among vulnerable pupils.
• Recent changes are not yet fully embedded.

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 Armthorpe Academy attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.6% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Armthorpe Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Armthorpe Academy had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.7% 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, 14.4% of pupils at Armthorpe Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.9% 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 Armthorpe Academy received £7,893 and spent £8,383 for each of its 688 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £448,000 (£651 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Consilium Academies, income was £9,167 and spending £9,138 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 · Doncaster local authority: places and applications

Armthorpe Academy is part of Consilium Academies, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Ellesmere Park High School Manchester
• Moorside High School Manchester
• Wyvern Academy Darlington
• Thornhill Academy Sunderland
• Washington Academy Washington
• Heworth Grange School Gateshead

What is Armthorpe Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Armthorpe Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Armthorpe Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Armthorpe Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Armthorpe Academy have?

Armthorpe Academy has 695 pupils on roll.

What age range does Armthorpe Academy cover?

Armthorpe Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Armthorpe Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.6, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Armthorpe Academy?

Armthorpe Academy is at Mere Lane, Armthorpe, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN3 2DA.