Outwood Academy Shafton
Engine Lane, Shafton, Barnsley, S72 8RE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- OUTWOOD GRANGE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Principal Alison McQueen
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Outwood Grange Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Barnsley North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,377
- URN
- 139211
- Local authority
- Barnsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01226717730
About this school
Outwood Academy Shafton is a secondary academy in Barnsley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,377 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 | 254 | 259 | 263 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.2 | 40.7 | 42.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.61 -0.78 to -0.43 | -0.44 -0.61 to -0.26 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 38.2% | 44.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 61.4% | 63.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 33% | 42.9% | 23.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
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 Outwood Academy Shafton has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barnsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.2 | 35.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.7 | 34.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42 | 38.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,367 |
| 2023/24 | 1,382 |
| 2024/25 | 1,380 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Outwood Academy Shafton compares
Outwood Academy Shafton ranked 7th of 10 secondary schools in Barnsley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42 | 11.7% | 38.3% | 1,377 | — |
| Outwood Academy Carlton | 41.5 | 12.3% | 38.4% | 1,109 | 1.8 miles |
| Outwood Academy Hemsworth | 41 | 11.6% | 41.3% | 1,101 | 3.0 miles |
| Netherwood Academy | 42.6 | 11.1% | 37.1% | 1,229 | 3.9 miles |
| Barnsley Academy | 45.1 | 9.9% | 47.7% | 874 | 4.0 miles |
| Minsthorpe Community College | 41.3 | 10.1% | 30.7% | 1,609 | 4.7 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.26%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 11.72%
- Persistent absence
- 29.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Outwood Academy Carlton1.8 miles
Secondary · Barnsley
-
Outwood Academy Hemsworth3.0 miles
Secondary · Pontefract
-
Netherwood Academy3.9 miles
Secondary · Barnsley
-
Barnsley Academy4.0 miles
Secondary · Barnsley
-
Minsthorpe Community College4.7 miles
Secondary · Pontefract
Other schools in Barnsley
Outwood Academy Shafton ranks 6th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Barnsley.
- Barnsley Academy Secondary
- Darton Academy Secondary
- Horizon Community College Secondary
- Kirk Balk Academy Secondary
- Netherwood Academy Secondary
- Outwood Academy Carlton Secondary
- Trinity Academy St. Edwards Secondary
- All Saints Academy Darfield Primary
- Athersley North Primary School Primary
- Athersley South Primary School Primary
- Bank End Primary Academy Primary
- Barugh Green Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Outwood Academy Shafton teach?
- Outwood Academy Shafton teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Barnsley.
- Who is the principal of Outwood Academy Shafton?
- The principal of Outwood Academy Shafton is Principal Alison McQueen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Outwood Academy Shafton last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Outwood Academy Shafton, 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 Outwood Academy Shafton?
- Outwood Academy Shafton has 1,377 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Outwood Academy Shafton full?
- Outwood Academy Shafton has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,377 on roll (102%), 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 Outwood Academy Shafton a faith school?
- No. Outwood Academy Shafton has no designated religious character.
- Is Outwood Academy Shafton a selective school?
- No. Outwood Academy Shafton is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Outwood Academy Shafton?
- Outwood Academy Shafton is part of OUTWOOD GRANGE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Outwood Academy Shafton's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.2 in 2022/23 and 42 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Outwood Academy Shafton rank locally?
- Outwood Academy Shafton ranked 7th of 10 secondary schools in Barnsley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Outwood Academy Shafton's absence rate?
- Outwood Academy Shafton's overall absence rate is 11.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Outwood Academy Shafton's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Outwood Academy Shafton'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.