Thomas Deacon Academy
Queen's Gardens, Peterborough, PE1 2UW
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 7 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THOMAS DEACON EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Emily Gaunt
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Thomas Deacon Education Trust
- Constituency
- Peterborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 2,560
- Pupils on roll
- 2,256
- URN
- 135263
- Local authority
- Peterborough
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01733426060
About this school
Thomas Deacon Academy is an all-through academy in Peterborough. It teaches children aged 7 to 19 and has 2,256 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thomas Deacon Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 90 | 89 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 41% | 45% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 59% | 64% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 64% | 60% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 59% | 53% | 54% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 102.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 330 | 332 | 346 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.3 | 39.6 | 39.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.05 -0.20 to +0.11 | -0.02 -0.18 to +0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 31.3% | 32.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 50.6% | 53.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 5% | 5.4% | 5.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Thomas Deacon Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Peterborough average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41% | 52.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 45% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 58.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Peterborough average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39.3 | 39.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.6 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.1 | 39.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2,406 |
| 2023/24 | 2,367 |
| 2024/25 | 2,308 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thomas Deacon Academy compares
Thomas Deacon Academy ranked 11th of 13 secondary schools in Peterborough for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.1 | 9.3% | 37.6% | 2,256 | — |
| The King's (The Cathedral) School | 63.2 | 5.1% | 13.3% | 1,256 | 0.4 miles |
| Hampton College | 44.5 | 7.8% | 25.3% | 1,608 | 3.8 miles |
| Greater Peterborough UTC | 38.2 | 9.1% | 37.3% | 464 | 0.2 miles |
| Queen's Drive Infant School | — | 6.5% | 29.8% | 208 | 0.2 miles |
| All Saints' CofE (Aided) Primary School | — | 5.1% | 24.1% | 418 | 0.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 37.58%
- English as an additional language
- 39.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.27%
- Persistent absence
- 27.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The King's (The Cathedral) School0.4 miles
All-through · Peterborough
-
Hampton College3.8 miles
All-through · Peterborough
-
Greater Peterborough UTC0.2 miles
Secondary · Peterborough
-
Queen's Drive Infant School0.2 miles
Primary · Peterborough
-
All Saints' CofE (Aided) Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Peterborough
Other schools in Peterborough
Thomas Deacon Academy ranks 60th of the 78 ranked primary schools in Peterborough, and Thomas Deacon Academy ranks 12th of the 15 ranked secondary schools in Peterborough.
- Hampton College All-through
- The King's (The Cathedral) School All-through
- Caverstede Nursery School Nursery
- Alderman Jacobs School Primary
- All Saints' CofE (Aided) Primary School Primary
- Baston CE Primary School Primary
- Bishop Creighton Academy Primary
- Braybrook Primary Academy Primary
- Brewster Avenue Infant School Primary
- Castor CofE Primary School Primary
- Coates Primary School Primary
- Deeping St James Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Thomas Deacon Academy teach?
- Thomas Deacon Academy teaches children aged 7 to 19. It is an all-through school in Peterborough.
- Who is the principal of Thomas Deacon Academy?
- The principal of Thomas Deacon Academy is Mrs Emily Gaunt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thomas Deacon Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thomas Deacon Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Thomas Deacon Academy?
- Thomas Deacon Academy has 2,256 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 19.
- Is Thomas Deacon Academy full?
- Thomas Deacon Academy has capacity for 2,560 pupils and 2,256 on roll (88%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Thomas Deacon Academy a faith school?
- No. Thomas Deacon Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Thomas Deacon Academy a selective school?
- No. Thomas Deacon Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Thomas Deacon Academy part of an academy trust?
- Thomas Deacon Academy is part of THOMAS DEACON EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Thomas Deacon Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 41% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thomas Deacon Academy compare with other schools in Peterborough?
- Thomas Deacon Academy ranked 11th of 13 secondary schools in Peterborough for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thomas Deacon Academy's absence rate?
- Thomas Deacon Academy's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thomas Deacon Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thomas Deacon Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.