Bruntcliffe Academy

Bruntcliffe Academy is a secondary academy within The GORSE Academies Trust, inspected in November 2024. The inspection found the school to be performing well across the board: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management were all judged good, and the previous inspection grade was also good. The report notes stable leadership and demonstrable improvement across all areas, with most staff feeling supported and trustees and governors having a sharp understanding of strengths and priorities. Pupils are taught to take pride in themselves and the school’s values, and most achieve highly through a consistently high-quality curriculum. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are prioritised and well supported, reading is a strong priority, and pupils benefit from a comprehensive personal development programme and an impressive range of clubs, trips and careers opportunities. Most pupils behave respectfully, bullying is dealt with quickly, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. There are still areas to improve. Teaching and assessment are not consistent across all lessons, with some pupils not receiving clear modelling or timely correction of misconceptions. A significant number of pupils are persistently absent, and the school’s new behaviour approaches are not yet fully embedded, with a small number of pupils not behaving well. Repeated suspensions have reduced but need to fall further.

Strengths

• High-quality curriculum with precisely identified knowledge and skills
• High ambition for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Strong support and prioritisation for disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils achieve highly in published assessments and examinations
• Reading is prioritised across the curriculum with effective support for weaker readers
• Pupils revisit topics and are challenged to recall prior learning
• Comprehensive personal development programme covering health, relationships and life skills
• Impressive range of clubs, trips and activities that nurture pupils’ talents and interests
• Most pupils are polite, respectful and have positive relationships with adults
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Stable leadership with demonstrable improvement across all areas
• Most staff feel supported and that their workload is manageable
• Trustees and governors have a sharp understanding of strengths and areas for improvement

Areas for Improvement

• Implementation of the curriculum is inconsistent across lessons
• Some lessons lack clear modelling and explanation
• Pupils’ misconceptions are not always addressed promptly
• A significant number of pupils are persistently absent
• New approaches to managing behaviour are not fully embedded
• A small number of pupils do not behave well
• Repeated suspensions have reduced but need to reduce further

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 Bruntcliffe Academy attended 90.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.3% 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, 11.4% of pupils at Bruntcliffe 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 Bruntcliffe Academy had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.8% 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, 18.8% of pupils at Bruntcliffe Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.8% 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 Bruntcliffe Academy received £7,424 and spent £6,888 for each of its 1,375 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,013,000 (£737 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of The Gorse Academies Trust, income was £7,876 and spending £7,672 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 Leeds · Leeds local authority: places and applications

Bruntcliffe Academy is part of The Gorse Academies Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• The Morley Academy Leeds
• Morley Newlands Academy Leeds
• Elliott Hudson College Leeds
• The Farnley Academy Leeds
• Ryecroft Academy Leeds
• The Ruth Gorse Academy Leeds
• Leeds Mathematics School Leeds
• Richmond Hill Academy Leeds
• Little London Academy Leeds
• Hillcrest Academy Leeds

What is Bruntcliffe Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bruntcliffe Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Bruntcliffe Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Bruntcliffe Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Bruntcliffe Academy have?

Bruntcliffe Academy has 1,361 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bruntcliffe Academy cover?

Bruntcliffe Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Bruntcliffe Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 47.8, and 49% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Bruntcliffe Academy?

Bruntcliffe Academy is at Bruntcliffe Lane, Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS27 0LZ.