Minsthorpe Community College
Minsthorpe Lane, South Elmsall, Pontefract, WF9 2UJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MINSTHORPE ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mark Gilmore/ Rachael Merritt
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Normanton and Hemsworth
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,755
- Pupils on roll
- 1,609
- URN
- 137011
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977657600
About this school
Minsthorpe Community College is a secondary academy in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,609 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Minsthorpe Community College, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 250 | 286 | 250 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.4 | 41.8 | 41.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.11 -0.07 to +0.28 | +0.21 +0.04 to +0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 38.5% | 36.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 53.8% | 53.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 8% | 9.4% | 8.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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 Minsthorpe Community College 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 | 43.4 | 38.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.8 | 39.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.3 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,589 |
| 2023/24 | 1,580 |
| 2024/25 | 1,575 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Minsthorpe Community College compares
Minsthorpe Community College ranked 15th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.3 | 10.1% | 30.7% | 1,609 | — |
| Outwood Academy Hemsworth | 41 | 11.6% | 41.3% | 1,101 | 2.6 miles |
| Campsmount Academy | 41.5 | 11.1% | 34.3% | 710 | 4.6 miles |
| Outwood Academy Shafton | 42 | 11.7% | 38.3% | 1,377 | 4.7 miles |
| Outwood Academy Adwick | 43.7 | 10.5% | 40.3% | 1,048 | 4.8 miles |
| Astrea Academy Dearne | 40.2 | 14% | 46.1% | 1,071 | 5.1 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)
- 30.68%
- English as an additional language
- 10%
- Overall absence
- 10.05%
- Persistent absence
- 30.04%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Outwood Academy Hemsworth2.6 miles
Secondary · Pontefract
-
Campsmount Academy4.6 miles
Secondary · Doncaster
-
Outwood Academy Shafton4.7 miles
Secondary · Barnsley
-
Outwood Academy Adwick4.8 miles
Secondary · Doncaster
-
Astrea Academy Dearne5.1 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
Other schools in Pontefract
Minsthorpe Community College ranks 5th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Pontefract.
- Carleton High School Secondary
- Outwood Academy Hemsworth Secondary
- St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy Secondary
- The Featherstone Academy Secondary
- The King's School Secondary
- Harewood Centre Nursery School Nursery
- Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Ackworth Mill Dam School Primary
- Ash Grove Primary Academy Primary
- Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Carleton Park Junior and Infant School Primary
- Cherry Tree Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Minsthorpe Community College teach?
- Minsthorpe Community College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the principal of Minsthorpe Community College?
- The principal of Minsthorpe Community College is Mark Gilmore/ Rachael Merritt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Minsthorpe Community College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Minsthorpe Community College, 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 Minsthorpe Community College?
- Minsthorpe Community College has 1,609 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Minsthorpe Community College full?
- Minsthorpe Community College has capacity for 1,755 pupils and 1,609 on roll (92%), 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 Minsthorpe Community College a faith school?
- No. Minsthorpe Community College has no designated religious character.
- Is Minsthorpe Community College a selective school?
- No. Minsthorpe Community College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Minsthorpe Community College part of an academy trust?
- Minsthorpe Community College is part of MINSTHORPE 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 Minsthorpe Community College have?
- The schools register lists Minsthorpe Community College's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Minsthorpe Community College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.4 in 2022/23 and 41.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Minsthorpe Community College compare with other schools in Wakefield?
- Minsthorpe Community College ranked 15th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Minsthorpe Community College's absence rate?
- Minsthorpe Community College's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Minsthorpe Community College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Minsthorpe Community College'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.