Outwood Academy City

Outwood Academy City is an improving and inclusive secondary school where high-quality pastoral care helps pupils feel safe and well cared for. The curriculum is ambitious, carefully sequenced and broad, pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers and are well supported, reading is prioritised, and personal development is strong. Leadership, including the trust and local academy council, has high ambitions and an accurate understanding of the school, and staff value the focus on professional development and well-being. Safeguarding is effective. Behaviour and attendance are the main areas for improvement. Many pupils behave well, but some do not meet the school’s high expectations; low-level disruption and poor conduct at social times affect other pupils, and suspensions remain high despite recent reductions. Persistent absence is too high, especially for disadvantaged pupils, meaning some miss out on the high-quality curriculum. There is also variation in how consistently the curriculum is delivered across subjects, so pupils learn better in some subjects than others, and assessment is not consistently used to identify and address gaps in knowledge. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and follows a previous good grade; the current principal was appointed in September 2023. Published 2023 outcomes do not reflect the impact of the curriculum, partly because of high absence, but pupils who attend regularly achieve well.

Strengths

• High-quality pastoral care helps pupils feel safe and well cared for.
• The school is improving, inclusive and proud of its diverse community.
• The curriculum is ambitious, carefully sequenced and broad, including the EBacc suite.
• Pupils with SEND are ambitious for and follow the same curriculum as their peers, with effective support.
• Reading is prioritised, with effective catch-up support and promotion of reading for pleasure.
• Many pupils behave well around school and work hard in lessons.
• Personal development is strong, with a wide range of clubs, visits and opportunities.
• Careers education is carefully planned and supports key stage 4 next steps.
• Leaders, trustees and the local academy council share high ambitions and understand the school accurately.
• Staff value leaders’ commitment to professional development and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils are persistently absent, especially disadvantaged pupils, reducing access to the curriculum.
• Some pupils do not behave as well as they should, causing low-level disruption in lessons.
• Poor conduct at social times makes some pupils feel uncomfortable.
• Suspensions remain high, despite recent reductions.
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent across subjects, so pupils learn better in some subjects than others.
• Assessment is not consistently used to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
• Published 2023 outcomes do not reflect the school’s curriculum, partly due to high absence.

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 Outwood Academy City attended 87.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.3% 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, 17.2% of pupils at Outwood Academy City were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 16 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 Outwood Academy City had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.0% 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, 17.0% of pupils at Outwood Academy City were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% 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 Outwood Academy City received £8,353 and spent £7,838 for each of its 1,181 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,667,000 (£1,412 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, income was £8,313 and spending £8,200 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 Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

Outwood Academy City is part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Outwood Academy Newbold Chesterfield
• Outwood Academy Hasland Hall Chesterfield
• Outwood Academy Valley Worksop
• Outwood Primary Academy Darfield Barnsley
• Outwood Academy Portland Worksop
• Outwood Primary Academy Littleworth Grange Barnsley
• Outwood Academy Shafton Barnsley
• Outwood Academy Carlton Barnsley
• Outwood Primary Academy Woodlands Doncaster
• Outwood Academy Adwick Doncaster

What is Outwood Academy City's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Outwood Academy City is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Outwood Academy City last inspected by Ofsted?

Outwood Academy City was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Outwood Academy City have?

Outwood Academy City has 1,138 pupils on roll.

What age range does Outwood Academy City cover?

Outwood Academy City for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Outwood Academy City's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.1, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Outwood Academy City?

Outwood Academy City is at Stradbroke Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S13 8SS.