Crofton Academy
High Street, Crofton, Wakefield, WF4 1NF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CASTLEFORD ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Peter Walker
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Castleford Academy
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment
- Constituency
- Normanton and Hemsworth
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,045
- URN
- 137001
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924862985
About this school
Crofton Academy is a secondary academy in Wakefield. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,045 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 199 | 206 | 198 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.0 | 50.0 | 46.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.09 -0.29 to +0.11 | +0.26 +0.07 to +0.46 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 56.8% | 47% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 73.8% | 66.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 26% | 18.9% | 16.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.0 |
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 Crofton 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 | Wakefield average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46 | 38.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50 | 39.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.5 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,038 |
| 2023/24 | 1,040 |
| 2024/25 | 1,059 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Crofton Academy compares
Crofton Academy ranked 10th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.5 | 10.2% | 32% | 1,045 | — |
| St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy | 46.3 | 8.5% | 26.7% | 762 | 2.2 miles |
| Outwood Academy Freeston | 44.6 | 10.7% | 29.6% | 993 | 2.7 miles |
| Kettlethorpe High School | 46.9 | 11.5% | 24.2% | 1,616 | 2.9 miles |
| Outwood Academy City Fields | 38.8 | 9.2% | 38.8% | 928 | 2.9 miles |
| Trinity Academy Cathedral | 48.7 | 8% | 41.5% | 1,028 | 3.7 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)
- 32.01%
- English as an additional language
- 2.1%
- Overall absence
- 10.23%
- Persistent absence
- 27.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
-
Outwood Academy Freeston2.7 miles
Secondary · Normanton
-
Kettlethorpe High School2.9 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
-
Outwood Academy City Fields2.9 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
-
Trinity Academy Cathedral3.7 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
Other schools in Wakefield
Crofton Academy ranks 6th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Wakefield.
- Horbury Academy Secondary
- Kettlethorpe High School Secondary
- Outwood Academy City Fields Secondary
- Outwood Grange Academy Secondary
- Rodillian Academy Secondary
- St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Trinity Academy Cathedral Secondary
- Woodkirk Academy Secondary
- Crigglestone Nursery School Nursery
- The Castle Nursery School Nursery
- Alverthorpe St Paul's CofE (VA) School 3-11yrs Primary
- Blackgates Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Crofton Academy teach?
- Crofton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Wakefield.
- Who is the headteacher of Crofton Academy?
- The headteacher of Crofton Academy is Mr Peter Walker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Crofton Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Crofton 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 Crofton Academy?
- Crofton Academy has 1,045 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Crofton Academy full?
- Crofton Academy has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,045 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Crofton Academy a faith school?
- No. Crofton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Crofton Academy a selective school?
- No. Crofton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Crofton Academy?
- Crofton Academy is part of CASTLEFORD ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Crofton Academy have?
- The schools register lists Crofton Academy's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Crofton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46 in 2022/23 and 46.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Crofton Academy rank locally?
- Crofton Academy ranked 10th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Crofton Academy's absence rate?
- Crofton Academy's overall absence rate is 10.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Crofton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Crofton 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.