Airedale Academy
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Wakefield
Crewe Road, Castleford, WF10 3JU
49
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Requires improvement
Graded 30/01/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
84.8%
41.9% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,008
Capacity used
Has space81%
1,250 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
141 of 141 families who put it first got an offer
177
Places offered
211
Total applications
1.2
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 141 | 141 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 40 | 13 | ● 33% |
| 3rd preference | 18 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Later preferences (4th–5th) | 12 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 211 | 154 | 73% |
1st preference success by year
Wakefield lets families list 5 preferences. 3 applications came from outside the council area (2 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Andy Percival
- Address
- Crewe Road, Airedale, Castleford, WF10 3JU
- Phone
- 01977664555
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Ward / constituency
- Airedale & Ferry Fryston · Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136613
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 52% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 8% | — | — |
| SEN support | 16% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: CASTLEFORD ACADEMY TRUST
1,008 pupils · 1,250 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
30 January 2024
Full graded inspection
Requires improvement overall effectivenessSixth form Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement - 22
30 November 2022
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,096 pupils
Attendance
84.8%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
15.2%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
41.9%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
9.4%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
6.7%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 34.0 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.72 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 24% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 40% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 2.89 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | — | — | — |
Average grade: NE (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 33.8 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 25.1% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 43.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 4.6% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.81 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 195 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 188 | 8% | 31% | 49% | |
| English Language | 188 | 5% | 35% | 52% | |
| English Literature | 187 | 7% | 44% | 59% | |
| Combined Science | 182 | 6% | 27% | 45% | |
| Geography | 108 | 3% | 24% | 41% | |
| Art and Design | 63 | 6% | 32% | 51% | |
| History | 47 | 9% | 28% | 36% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 35 | 0% | 3% | 11% | |
| French | 18 | 28% | 50% | 56% | |
| Business | 18 | 17% | 56% | 72% |
Oxbridge
No Cambridge applications recorded for this school in 2020–2025.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 13% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 3% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 17% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Wakefield council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.