Woodkirk Academy
Rein Road, Tingley, Wakefield, WF3 1JQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LEODIS ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Timothy Jones
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Leodis Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Leeds South West and Morley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,785
- Pupils on roll
- 1,769
- URN
- 137383
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01138873600
About this school
Woodkirk Academy is a secondary academy in Wakefield. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,769 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 March 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 | 302 | 307 | 280 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.7 | 49.8 | 52.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.19 +0.03 to +0.35 | +0.15 -0.01 to +0.31 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 51% | 57% | 62.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 76.9% | 77.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 68% | 73.3% | 73.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.1 |
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 Woodkirk 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 | 48.7 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.8 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.8 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,847 |
| 2023/24 | 1,799 |
| 2024/25 | 1,775 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Woodkirk Academy compares
Woodkirk Academy ranked 12th of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.8 | 7.2% | 20.6% | 1,769 | — |
| The Morley Academy | 54.6 | 7.1% | 22.2% | 1,410 | 1.2 miles |
| Bruntcliffe Academy | 46 | 9.7% | 26.1% | 1,361 | 1.8 miles |
| Upper Batley High School | 44.1 | 8.8% | 28.3% | 784 | 2.1 miles |
| Cockburn School | 49.1 | 8.2% | 38.9% | 1,248 | 2.4 miles |
| Batley Girls' High School | 46.9 | 9.8% | 31.1% | 1,415 | 2.5 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)
- 20.62%
- English as an additional language
- 9.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.22%
- Persistent absence
- 19.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Morley Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Bruntcliffe Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Upper Batley High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Batley
-
Cockburn School2.4 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Batley Girls' High School2.5 miles
Secondary · Batley
Other schools in Wakefield
Woodkirk Academy ranks 1st of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Wakefield.
- Crofton Academy Secondary
- 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
- 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 Woodkirk Academy teach?
- Woodkirk Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Wakefield.
- Who is the principal of Woodkirk Academy?
- The principal of Woodkirk Academy is Mr Timothy Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Woodkirk Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Woodkirk 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 Woodkirk Academy?
- Woodkirk Academy has 1,769 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Woodkirk Academy full?
- Woodkirk Academy has capacity for 1,785 pupils and 1,769 on roll (99%), 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 Woodkirk Academy a faith school?
- No. Woodkirk Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Woodkirk Academy a selective school?
- No. Woodkirk Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Woodkirk Academy?
- Woodkirk Academy is part of LEODIS ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Woodkirk Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.7 in 2022/23 and 52.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Woodkirk Academy rank locally?
- Woodkirk Academy ranked 12th of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Woodkirk Academy's absence rate?
- Woodkirk Academy's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Woodkirk Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Woodkirk 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.