Outwood Academy Freeston

Outwood Academy Freeston is a secondary academy converter within Outwood Grange Academies Trust. It has high ambitions for pupils, who achieve well and take pride in their work; the school was graded good in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, having previously been judged as requiring improvement. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is improving, and suspensions are reducing. The curriculum is well planned and delivered effectively in many subjects, with secure teacher subject knowledge and strong support for pupils with SEND and early reading. Pupils benefit from a comprehensive personal development programme, a wide range of enrichment, and clear careers guidance. Governors and trustees understand the school well, and staff morale is high. There are still areas to improve. Sometimes staff do not check pupils’ learning consistently, so misconceptions and gaps can go unnoticed. A small minority of pupils report bullying and racist or homophobic language, and some are uncertain how issues have been resolved. Parental engagement has had mixed impact, with some parents dissatisfied, so relationships with the local community need strengthening.

Strengths

• High ambitions, aspirations and expectations for all pupils
• Pupils take pride in their work and achieve well
• Well-planned curriculum based on current educational research
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and receive expert support
• Swift reading intervention for pupils in the early stages of reading
• Strong reading culture with competitions, librarians and seasonal events
• Strong behaviour systems with reducing suspensions
• Improving pupil attendance over time
• Comprehensive personal development programme
• Wide range of enrichment clubs and activities
• Pupils value careers support and guidance
• Staff morale is high and workload is viewed positively
• Governors and trustees have a strong understanding of strengths and areas for development

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not check pupils’ learning consistently, allowing gaps and misconceptions to go unaddressed
• A small minority of pupils report bullying and racist or homophobic language
• Some pupils are uncertain how bullying and derogatory language issues have been resolved
• Parental engagement has had mixed impact, with some parents dissatisfied
• More work is needed to strengthen relationships with the local community

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 Freeston attended 89.3% 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, 8.9% of pupils at Outwood Academy Freeston were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Freeston had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.5% 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, 14.0% of pupils at Outwood Academy Freeston 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 Freeston received £8,205 and spent £7,717 for each of its 990 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,398,000 (£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 Normanton · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

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

• Outwood Academy City Fields Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Park Hill Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Greenhill Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane Wakefield
• Outwood Grange Academy Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane Pontefract
• Outwood Primary Academy Newstead Green Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Kirkhamgate Wakefield
• Outwood Academy Hemsworth Pontefract

What is Outwood Academy Freeston's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Outwood Academy Freeston is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Outwood Academy Freeston last inspected by Ofsted?

Outwood Academy Freeston was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Outwood Academy Freeston have?

Outwood Academy Freeston has 993 pupils on roll.

What age range does Outwood Academy Freeston cover?

Outwood Academy Freeston for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Outwood Academy Freeston's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.6, and 51% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Outwood Academy Freeston?

Outwood Academy Freeston is at Favell Avenue, Normanton, WF6 1HZ.