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John Smeaton Academy

Secondary · Leeds · LS15 8TA

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 30 April 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

677 pupils · 75% of 900 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
40.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
9.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
13.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
https://www.johnsmeatonacademy.org.uk/
URN
148793

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 156 families named it first for 166 Year 7 places, 0.94 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 2.763 miles; distance decided places in 1 of the 12 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2014 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Good on 30 April 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 11.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.94 first-choice applications per place

166 places offered · 156 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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 2.763 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 2.763 miles

measured in a straight line.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
29.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
34.8%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
14.3%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
2.6
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 school29.5
Median of its 12 closest peers40.8
Leeds average46.4
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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
Leigh Academy Hugh ChristieTonbridge · 194 miles awayRequires improvement40.5
Orchard Park High SchoolCroydon · 178 miles awayGood44.8
New Line Learning AcademyMaidstone · 196 miles awayRequires improvement32.2
Albany AcademyChorley · 50 miles awayGood43.7
John Spence Community High SchoolNorth Shields · 83 miles awayExpected standard41
St Augustine AcademyMaidstone · 194 miles awayNeeds attention35.1
Seaton Valley High SchoolSeaton Delaval · 87 miles awayNo current grade43.2
Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary AcademyEllesmere Port · 71 miles awayNeeds attention36.9
St Bernards Catholic High School, BarrowBarrow-in-Furness · 75 miles awayGood34.6
All Saints' Church of England AcademyWeymouth · 227 miles awayNeeds attention35.6
Oasis Academy John WilliamsBristol · 172 miles awayGood46.9
The Vyne Community SchoolBasingstoke · 176 miles awayNeeds attention43

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

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
40 of 40 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 76% (Leeds 57%, England 59%) · Not recorded 6% (Leeds 4%, England 2%) · Black African 4% (Leeds 8%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Leeds 3%, England 3%) · Any other White background 2% (Leeds 5%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Leeds 3%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Leeds 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Leeds 2%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Leeds 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Leeds 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Leeds 7%, England 5%) · 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)
11.2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
29.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

58.85 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Leeds: 21.53 suspensions and 0.03 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
17.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

68% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 11% moved to another state school · 22% 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)

62.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.4 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 £50,772; 15% 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£12,106
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 64% (77%) · premises 26% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 1% (6%) · supplies and services 9% (11%) · educational supplies 4% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (1%) · catering 0% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£444,000; in-year balance -£706,000

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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
85%
Continuing in education
74%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
7%

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)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work38.7%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways15.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health46.4%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier86.8%62.3%
Social housing4.6%17.1%
Privately rented8.5%20.5%
Detached houses53.2%22.9%
Flats3.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms31.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van15.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01011410 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£228,000294 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£180,000–£289,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (72)£357,500
Semi-detached (136)£225,000
Terraced (61)£185,000
Flat (25)£117,000

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 (4.45 km, 2026 entry): 3,081 sales, median £245,000. 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
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
6an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an 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