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Horbury Academy

Secondary · Wakefield · WF4 5HE

Data updated

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Strong standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Strong standardAchievement: Strong standardAttendance & behaviour: Needs attentionPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 6 January 2026 · report published 8 February 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,070 pupils · 101% of 1,059 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
27.9% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
17% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
4.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.horburyacademy.com
URN
138707

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 234 families named it first for 198 Year 7 places, 1.18 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 0.88 miles, the only Year 7 round we hold for it. At its report-card inspection on 6 January 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Strong standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.18 first-choice applications per place

198 places offered · 234 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 0.88 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 0.88 miles

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

196 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
48.7
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
76%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
52.6%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.3
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school48.7
Median of its 12 closest peers41.3
Wakefield average45.3
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Thirsk School & Sixth Form CollegeThirsk · 40 miles awayExpected standard43.5
Baysgarth SchoolBarton-upon-Humber · 46 miles awayGood40.9
Alec Hunter AcademyBraintree · 152 miles awayGood45.7
Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High SchoolManchester · 27 miles awayExpected standard40.9
The Littlehampton AcademyLittlehampton · 201 miles awayNeeds attention37.2
Leigh Academy BlackheathLondon · 165 miles awayOutstanding55
Writhlington SchoolRadstock · 168 miles awayGood40.3
Sir Harry Smith Community CollegePeterborough · 97 miles awayRequires improvement40.6
Willingdon Community SchoolEastbourne · 211 miles awayGood45
Mangotsfield SchoolBristol · 156 miles awayNeeds attention41.3
The Thomas Aveling SchoolRochester · 181 miles awayGood41.3
The Newark AcademyNewark · 52 miles awayGood (2019)45.4

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 86% (Wakefield 79%, England 59%) · Any other White background 3% (Wakefield 5%, England 7%) · Black African 2% (Wakefield 3%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Wakefield 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Wakefield 3%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Wakefield 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Wakefield 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (Wakefield 2%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Wakefield 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Wakefield 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
9.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
22.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

36.65 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Wakefield: 46.69 suspensions and 0.35 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

92% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 4% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

69.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 12 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £80,086; 9.7% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,429
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (6%) · supplies and services 9% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£619,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
92%
Continuing in education
82%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
4%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher24.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work28.1%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways22.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health43.8%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier68%62.3%
Social housing20.2%17.1%
Privately rented11.7%20.5%
Detached houses21.4%22.9%
Flats4.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms11%21.1%
Households with no car or van20.6%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01011801 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£212,500257 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£165,000–£290,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (65)£340,000
Semi-detached (87)£230,000
Terraced (93)£167,000
Flat (12)£126,500

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (1.42 km, 2026 entry): 400 sales, median £223,500. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
6an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
17an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
7an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools