Sir Thomas Wharton Academy

Sir Thomas Wharton Academy is a larger-than-average secondary academy in the Maltby Learning Trust, serving a relatively deprived area. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils enjoy school, feel safe, behave well and benefit from calm, focused classrooms and strong relationships. Personal development and wellbeing are exceptional, with a meticulously planned programme, an extensive electives offer, strong careers guidance and meaningful pupil leadership. Attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance all reach a strong standard. The main areas for further development are achievement and post-16 provision, which are at expected standard rather than strong. Pupils generally achieve well and improve over time, but national examination outcomes are not consistently high. In 2024/25, GCSE English and maths grade 5 outcomes, including for disadvantaged pupils, were below national averages, and A-level average point scores and value added were also below national averages. Leaders recognise that the post-16 curriculum is not consistently taught well in a small number of subjects and that some sixth-form students could make more progress. Leaders have a detailed understanding of strengths and priorities, governance is effective, staff are well supported, and inclusion is described as the golden thread running through the school. The school's next steps are to ensure the post-16 curriculum is consistently taught well so students achieve highly in all subjects, and to continue work so pupils achieve highly in national tests and examinations.

Strengths

• Exceptional personal development and wellbeing programme, including 'Life' lessons, standing assemblies and debate lessons.
• Impressive electives and extra-curricular offer, including international trips and 'An Audience With' role models.
• Strong, well-designed careers programme with employer encounters and purposeful work experience.
• Pupils behave extremely well; classrooms are calm, focused and disruption-free.
• Attendance has improved over time and persistent absence has decreased significantly, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
• Ambitious, well-planned curriculum with secure subject knowledge and evidence-informed teaching.
• Effective systems to identify and address gaps in pupils' foundational English and mathematics knowledge.
• Inclusion is embedded across the school, with tailored support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders and governors have detailed, insightful understanding of strengths and priorities and meet statutory duties.
• Highly effective professional learning and support for staff, with attention to workload and wellbeing.
• Pupils, including sixth-form students, are well prepared for next steps and secure appropriate destinations.
• Pupil leaders, including mental health first aiders and pupil parliament, make meaningful contributions.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is at expected standard rather than strong, with national examination outcomes not yet consistently high.
• Post-16 curriculum is not consistently taught well in a small number of subjects.
• Some sixth-form students do not make as much progress as they could.
• A-level average point scores and value added are below national averages.
• GCSE English and maths grade 5 outcomes, including for disadvantaged pupils, were below national averages in 2024/25.
• Disadvantaged pupils' English and maths grade 5 gap remains substantial.
• Leaders need to continue work to ensure pupils achieve highly in national tests and examinations.
• Leaders need to ensure the post-16 curriculum is consistently taught well so students achieve highly in all subjects.

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 Sir Thomas Wharton Academy attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.8% 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, 10.4% of pupils at Sir Thomas Wharton Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Sir Thomas Wharton Academy had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.2% 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, 16.0% of pupils at Sir Thomas Wharton Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% 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 Sir Thomas Wharton Academy received £9,384 and spent £8,888 for each of its 1,171 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,153,000 (£985 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Place Partnership - A Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,667 and spending £7,527 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

Sir Thomas Wharton Academy is part of Place Partnership - A Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Maltby Manor Academy Rotherham
• Maltby Academy Rotherham
• Maltby Lilly Hall Academy Rotherham
• Maltby Redwood Academy Rotherham
• Ravenfield Primary Academy Rotherham
• Wath Academy Rotherham
• Horbury Primary Academy Wakefield
• Horbury Academy Wakefield
• Middlestown Primary Academy Wakefield
• South Ossett Infant Academy Ossett

What is Sir Thomas Wharton Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sir Thomas Wharton Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Sir Thomas Wharton Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Sir Thomas Wharton Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Sir Thomas Wharton Academy have?

Sir Thomas Wharton Academy has 1,226 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sir Thomas Wharton Academy cover?

Sir Thomas Wharton Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Sir Thomas Wharton Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.2, and 61% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sir Thomas Wharton Academy?

Sir Thomas Wharton Academy is at Tait Avenue, Edlington, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN12 1HH.