Sir Thomas Wharton Academy
Tait Avenue, Edlington, Doncaster, DN12 1HH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MALTBY LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew McDonald
- Sponsor
- Maltby Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Rawmarsh and Conisbrough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,266
- Pupils on roll
- 1,226
- URN
- 144364
- Local authority
- Doncaster
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01709864100
About this school
Sir Thomas Wharton Academy is a secondary academy in Doncaster. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,226 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 161 | 188 | 163 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.7 | 46.9 | 43.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.07 -0.15 to +0.30 | -0.07 -0.28 to +0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 48.9% | 33.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 73.9% | 55.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 15% | 7.4% | 3.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.9 | 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 Sir Thomas Wharton 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 | Doncaster average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.7 | 42 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.9 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.3 | 40.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,045 |
| 2023/24 | 1,101 |
| 2024/25 | 1,166 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sir Thomas Wharton Academy compares
Sir Thomas Wharton Academy ranked 12th of 20 secondary schools in Doncaster for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.3 | 8.5% | 32.5% | 1,226 | — |
| De Warenne Academy | 48.9 | 9.3% | 41.7% | 762 | 2.3 miles |
| Astrea Academy Woodfields | 36.8 | 9.9% | 49.6% | 662 | 2.6 miles |
| Maltby Academy | 42 | 10.2% | 33.9% | 1,096 | 3.6 miles |
| XP School | 39.8 | 7.8% | 29.3% | 246 | 3.8 miles |
| Doncaster UTC | 48.6 | 5.2% | 24.6% | 770 | 3.8 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)
- 32.45%
- English as an additional language
- 9.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.54%
- Persistent absence
- 26.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
De Warenne Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Doncaster
-
Astrea Academy Woodfields2.6 miles
Secondary · Doncaster
-
Maltby Academy3.6 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
XP School3.8 miles
Secondary · Doncaster
-
Doncaster UTC3.8 miles
Secondary · Doncaster
Other schools in Doncaster
Sir Thomas Wharton Academy ranks 12th of the 20 ranked secondary schools in Doncaster.
- Armthorpe Academy Secondary
- Ash Hill Academy Secondary
- Astrea Academy Woodfields Secondary
- Campsmount Academy Secondary
- De Warenne Academy Secondary
- Don Valley Academy Secondary
- Doncaster UTC Secondary
- Hall Cross Academy Secondary
- Hungerhill School Secondary
- Outwood Academy Adwick Secondary
- Outwood Academy Danum Secondary
- Ridgewood School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Sir Thomas Wharton Academy teach?
- Sir Thomas Wharton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Doncaster.
- Who is the headteacher of Sir Thomas Wharton Academy?
- The headteacher of Sir Thomas Wharton Academy is Mr Matthew McDonald, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sir Thomas Wharton Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sir Thomas Wharton 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 Sir Thomas Wharton Academy?
- Sir Thomas Wharton Academy has 1,226 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Sir Thomas Wharton Academy full?
- Sir Thomas Wharton Academy has capacity for 1,266 pupils and 1,226 on roll (97%), 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 Sir Thomas Wharton Academy a faith school?
- No. Sir Thomas Wharton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Sir Thomas Wharton Academy?
- Sir Thomas Wharton Academy is part of MALTBY LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Sir Thomas Wharton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.7 in 2022/23 and 43.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sir Thomas Wharton Academy rank locally?
- Sir Thomas Wharton Academy ranked 12th of 20 secondary schools in Doncaster for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sir Thomas Wharton Academy's absence rate?
- Sir Thomas Wharton Academy's overall absence rate is 8.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sir Thomas Wharton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sir Thomas Wharton 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 10 July 2026.