De Lacy Academy
Middle Lane, Knottingley, WF11 0BZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Richard Fieldhouse
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Delta Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,210
- Pupils on roll
- 853
- URN
- 138006
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977722489
About this school
De Lacy Academy is a secondary academy in Knottingley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 853 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 139 | 170 | 147 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.1 | 44.5 | 45.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.09 -0.33 to +0.15 | -0.12 -0.34 to +0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 38.8% | 46.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 62.4% | 64.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 42% | 35.9% | 36.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.8 | 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 De Lacy 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 | 44.1 | 38.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.5 | 39.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.6 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 816 |
| 2023/24 | 885 |
| 2024/25 | 869 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How De Lacy Academy compares
De Lacy Academy ranked 12th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.6 | 10.9% | 39.8% | 853 | — |
| Airedale Academy | 33.8 | 15.2% | 49.7% | 1,008 | 3.1 miles |
| Carleton High School | 47.5 | 7.2% | 30.1% | 1,026 | 3.1 miles |
| The King's School | 49.9 | 6.6% | 24.4% | 1,041 | 3.4 miles |
| Castleford Academy | 48.5 | 8.7% | 27.8% | 1,480 | 4.4 miles |
| The Featherstone Academy | 41.6 | 9.6% | 41% | 556 | 4.5 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)
- 39.82%
- English as an additional language
- 6.9%
- Overall absence
- 10.85%
- Persistent absence
- 32.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Airedale Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Castleford
-
Carleton High School3.1 miles
Secondary · Pontefract
-
The King's School3.4 miles
Secondary · Pontefract
-
Castleford Academy4.4 miles
Secondary · Castleford
-
The Featherstone Academy4.5 miles
Secondary · Pontefract
Other schools in Knottingley
- Brotherton and Byram Community Primary Academy Primary
- England Lane Academy Primary
- Fairburn Community Primary School Primary
- Simpson's Lane Academy Primary
- St Botolphs CE Academy Primary
- The Vale Primary Academy Primary
- Willow Green Academy Primary
- Balance Alternative Provision Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does De Lacy Academy teach?
- De Lacy Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Knottingley.
- Who is the principal of De Lacy Academy?
- The principal of De Lacy Academy is Mr Richard Fieldhouse, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was De Lacy Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected De Lacy 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 De Lacy Academy?
- De Lacy Academy has 853 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is De Lacy Academy full?
- De Lacy Academy has capacity for 1,210 pupils and 853 on roll (70%), 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 De Lacy Academy a faith school?
- No. De Lacy Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is De Lacy Academy a selective school?
- No. De Lacy Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs De Lacy Academy?
- De Lacy Academy is part of DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have De Lacy Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.1 in 2022/23 and 45.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does De Lacy Academy rank locally?
- De Lacy Academy ranked 12th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is De Lacy Academy's absence rate?
- De Lacy Academy's overall absence rate is 10.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are De Lacy Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, De Lacy 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.