Leeds West Academy
Intake Lane, Leeds, LS13 1DQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WHITE ROSE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Dan Whieldon
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- White Rose Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Leeds West and Pudsey
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,432
- URN
- 135935
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01132295454
About this school
Leeds West Academy is a secondary academy in Leeds. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,432 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 257 | 247 | 282 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.0 | 38.6 | 41.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.25 -0.43 to -0.08 | -0.30 -0.48 to -0.12 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 32% | 38.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 49.4% | 61.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 10% | 8.9% | 13.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
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 Leeds West 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 | Leeds average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.6 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.7 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,407 |
| 2023/24 | 1,434 |
| 2024/25 | 1,450 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Leeds West Academy compares
Leeds West Academy ranked 32nd of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.7 | 13.1% | 41.8% | 1,432 | — |
| Pudsey Grammar School | 44 | 10.1% | 25.3% | 1,358 | 1.1 miles |
| Co-op Academy Priesthorpe | 41.1 | 10.1% | 39% | 1,013 | 1.4 miles |
| Crawshaw Academy | 45.2 | 9.1% | 24.8% | 1,052 | 1.5 miles |
| Horsforth School | 57.3 | 5.1% | 15.9% | 1,837 | 2.0 miles |
| Dixons Unity Academy | 36 | 12.8% | 55.7% | 907 | 2.3 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)
- 41.79%
- English as an additional language
- 7.1%
- Overall absence
- 13.11%
- Persistent absence
- 36.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pudsey Grammar School1.1 miles
Secondary · Pudsey
-
Co-op Academy Priesthorpe1.4 miles
Secondary · Pudsey
-
Crawshaw Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Pudsey
-
Horsforth School2.0 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Dixons Unity Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Leeds
Other schools in Leeds
Leeds West Academy ranks 24th of the 33 ranked secondary schools in Leeds.
- Abbey Grange Church of England Academy Secondary
- Allerton Grange School Secondary
- Allerton High School Secondary
- Benton Park School Secondary
- Bishop Young Church of England Academy Secondary
- Bruntcliffe Academy Secondary
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School Secondary
- Co-op Academy Leeds Secondary
- Cockburn John Charles Academy Secondary
- Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy Secondary
- Cockburn School Secondary
- Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Leeds West Academy teach?
- Leeds West Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Leeds.
- Who is the principal of Leeds West Academy?
- The principal of Leeds West Academy is Mr Dan Whieldon, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Leeds West Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Leeds West 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 big is Leeds West Academy?
- Leeds West Academy has 1,432 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Leeds West Academy full?
- Leeds West Academy has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,432 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Leeds West Academy a faith school?
- No. Leeds West Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Leeds West Academy a selective school?
- No. Leeds West Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Leeds West Academy?
- Leeds West Academy is part of WHITE ROSE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Leeds West Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39 in 2022/23 and 41.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Leeds West Academy rank locally?
- Leeds West Academy ranked 32nd of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Leeds West Academy's absence rate?
- Leeds West Academy's overall absence rate is 13.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Leeds West Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Leeds West 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.