Trinity Academy Cathedral

Trinity Academy Cathedral is a Church of England secondary school in Wakefield serving around 1,037 pupils, with a higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with EHC plans. In this full inspection under the renewed framework, the school was judged to reach a strong standard in every evaluated area, and safeguarding standards were met. Pupils achieve well, including in national examinations, with disadvantaged pupils and those with the lowest starting points making progress consistently above the national average; attendance is high, behaviour is calm and positive, and the curriculum and teaching are precisely planned and well adapted to pupils' needs.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well across the curriculum and in national examinations
• Disadvantaged pupils and those with the lowest starting points make progress consistently above national average
• High attendance and low rates of persistent absence
• Positive culture with clear routines and high expectations; suspensions and permanent exclusions have reduced
• Precisely planned curriculum that is carefully adapted to meet the needs of each pupil group
• Teachers use effective approaches to identify misconceptions and secure learning over time
• Strong inclusion practice with accurate identification of needs and effective support
• Robust leadership and governance with a clear vision and effective professional learning for staff
• Thoughtful personal development programme and a wide range of opportunities for pupils
• Pupils feel safe, valued and supported; bullying and derogatory language are rare

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance, while high, should continue to improve, particularly for pupils with SEND
• Curriculum implementation should be strengthened further to establish exceptional teaching standards, especially for pupils with high prior attainment

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 Trinity Academy Cathedral attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.3% 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, 12.5% of pupils at Trinity Academy Cathedral were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Trinity Academy Cathedral had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.1% 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, 13.7% of pupils at Trinity Academy Cathedral were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.7% 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 Trinity Academy Cathedral received £8,690 and spent £8,529 for each of its 1,038 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £916,000 (£883 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Trinity Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,544 and spending £8,213 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 Wakefield · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

Trinity Academy Cathedral is part of Trinity Multi Academy Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Trinity Academy St. Edwards Barnsley
• Trinity Academy Leeds Leeds
• Trinity Academy St Chad's Brighouse
• Trinity Sixth Form Academy Halifax
• Trinity Academy Akroydon Halifax
• Trinity Academy Bradford Bradford
• Trinity Academy Halifax Halifax
• Trinity Academy Whitehill Halifax
• Trinity Academy Grammar Sowerby Bridge
• Trinity Academy St Peter's Sowerby Bridge

What is Trinity Academy Cathedral's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Trinity Academy Cathedral is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Trinity Academy Cathedral last inspected by Ofsted?

Trinity Academy Cathedral was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Trinity Academy Cathedral have?

Trinity Academy Cathedral has 1,028 pupils on roll.

What age range does Trinity Academy Cathedral cover?

Trinity Academy Cathedral for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Trinity Academy Cathedral's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.9, and 53% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Trinity Academy Cathedral?

Trinity Academy Cathedral is at Thornes Road, Wakefield, WF2 8QF.