SchoolFacts.uk

The Laurel Academy

Secondary · Mexborough · S64 9SD

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 22 February 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

755 pupils (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
47.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
7.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
https://www.laurelacademy.org.uk/
URN
146639

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 160 families named it first for 170 Year 7 places, 0.94 first choices per place. We hold one Year 7 admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 22 February 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.94 first-choice applications per place

170 places offered · 160 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

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. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
50.2
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
83.3%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
59.8%
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 school50.2
Median of its 12 closest peers41.5
Doncaster average44.9
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
The Eastbourne AcademyEastbourne · 198 miles awaySerious weaknesses37.7
The Grangefield AcademyStockton-on-Tees · 74 miles awayOutstanding45.3
Easington AcademyPeterlee · 88 miles awayGood51.8
Ormiston Chadwick AcademyWidnes · 61 miles awayGood41.2
Haberdashers' Abraham DarbyTelford · 77 miles awayNeeds attention37.7
Thamesview SchoolGravesend · 160 miles awayGood34.3
Queen Elizabeth's AcademyMansfield · 24 miles awayGood32.2
Dame Elizabeth Cadbury SchoolBirmingham · 79 miles awayGood44.6
Wellfield SchoolWingate · 85 miles awayExpected standard47.8
The Holmesdale SchoolSnodland · 167 miles awayGood41.6
John Whitgift AcademyGrimsby · 48 miles awayGood48.1
Lathom High School : A Technology CollegeSkelmersdale · 62 miles awayGood41.5

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 84% (Doncaster 74%, England 59%) · Any other White background 7% (Doncaster 7%, England 7%) · Not recorded 3% (Doncaster 3%, England 2%) · Black African 2% (Doncaster 3%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Doncaster 1%, England 3%) · other groups together 2%

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)
6.7%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
19.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

26.91 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Doncaster: 47.34 suspensions and 0.31 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
20.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

89% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 6% 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)

56.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.7 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 £54,653; 12.8% 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£8,978
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 62% (77%) · premises 9% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (6%) · supplies and services 6% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 5% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £200,000; in-year balance -£1,064,000

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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
80%
Continuing in education
76%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
2%

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)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
5/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications20.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work36.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways15.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health44.4%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier80.1%62.3%
Social housing4%17.1%
Privately rented15.9%20.5%
Detached houses45.1%22.9%
Flats1.9%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms29.3%21.1%
Households with no car or van10.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01007583 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£105,000181 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£73,000–£150,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (23)£240,000
Semi-detached (54)£131,500
Terraced (103)£80,000

Homes around this school are among the cheapest tenth of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

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
2a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
3a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
1a rural school averages 0.9

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