Clifton Community School
Middle Lane, Rotherham, S65 2SN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WICKERSLEY PARTNERSHIP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Marie Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Wickersley Partnership Trust
- Constituency
- Rotherham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,250
- Pupils on roll
- 1,146
- URN
- 143545
- Local authority
- Rotherham
- Telephone
- 01709515005
About this school
Clifton Community School is a secondary academy in Rotherham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,146 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
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 151 | 191 | 188 |
| Attainment 8 score | 35.8 | 35.0 | 29.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.28 -0.51 to -0.04 | -0.44 -0.66 to -0.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 25.1% | 18.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46% | 44% | 38.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 37% | 63.9% | 57.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.9 | 3.1 | 2.6 |
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 Clifton Community School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Rotherham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 35.8 | 36.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 35 | 36 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 29.4 | 33.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,027 |
| 2023/24 | 1,084 |
| 2024/25 | 1,112 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Clifton Community School compares
Clifton Community School ranked 14th of 15 secondary schools in Rotherham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 29.4 | 12.5% | 62.3% | 1,146 | — |
| St Bernard's Catholic High School | 48.9 | 5.8% | 22.8% | 818 | 0.9 miles |
| Oakwood High School | 47.5 | 7.8% | 29.7% | 1,067 | 1.2 miles |
| Wingfield Academy | 47 | 8.7% | 34.8% | 990 | 2.1 miles |
| Thrybergh Academy | 28.8 | 17.4% | 60.1% | 525 | 2.2 miles |
| Rawmarsh Community School | 38.8 | 9.9% | 41.3% | 1,067 | 2.3 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
-
Ungraded inspection report27 November 2024
- 4 December 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 62.32%
- English as an additional language
- 48.7%
- Overall absence
- 12.47%
- Persistent absence
- 37.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bernard's Catholic High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
Oakwood High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
Wingfield Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
Thrybergh Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
Rawmarsh Community School2.3 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
Other schools in Rotherham
Clifton Community School ranks 11th of the 12 ranked secondary schools in Rotherham.
- Astrea Academy Dearne Secondary
- Brinsworth Academy Secondary
- Maltby Academy Secondary
- Oakwood High School Secondary
- Rawmarsh Community School Secondary
- Saint Pius X Catholic High School A Specialist School in Humanities Secondary
- St Bernard's Catholic High School Secondary
- Thrybergh Academy Secondary
- Wath Academy Secondary
- Wickersley School and Sports College Secondary
- Wingfield Academy Secondary
- Winterhill School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Clifton Community School teach?
- Clifton Community School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Rotherham.
- Who is the headteacher of Clifton Community School?
- The headteacher of Clifton Community School is Mrs Marie Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Clifton Community School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Clifton Community School, 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 Clifton Community School?
- Clifton Community School has 1,146 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Clifton Community School full?
- Clifton Community School has capacity for 1,250 pupils and 1,146 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 Clifton Community School a faith school?
- No. Clifton Community School has no designated religious character.
- Is Clifton Community School a selective school?
- No. Clifton Community School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Clifton Community School?
- Clifton Community School is part of WICKERSLEY PARTNERSHIP TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Clifton Community School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 35.8 in 2022/23 and 29.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Clifton Community School rank locally?
- Clifton Community School ranked 14th of 15 secondary schools in Rotherham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Clifton Community School's absence rate?
- Clifton Community School's overall absence rate is 12.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Clifton Community School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Clifton Community School'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 2 July 2026.