Highwoods Academy
Highwoods Road, Mexborough, S64 9ES
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EMPOWERING MINDS ACADEMY TRUST
- Head Teacher
- Mr Paul Rust
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Doncaster North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 262
- Pupils on roll
- 198
- URN
- 144539
- Local authority
- Doncaster
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01709583273
About this school
Highwoods Academy is a primary academy in Mexborough. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 198 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Highwoods Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 29 | 21 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 66% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 7% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 76% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 69% | 76% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 66% | 86% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Highwoods 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 | 62% | 54.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 66% | 57.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 60.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 211 |
| 2023/24 | 213 |
| 2024/25 | 201 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Highwoods Academy compares
Highwoods Academy ranked 42nd of 87 primary schools in Doncaster for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 6.4% | 50.8% | 198 | — |
| Montagu Academy | 77% | 5.1% | 42.4% | 352 | 0.5 miles |
| Mexborough St John the Baptist CofE Primary School | 34% | 5.3% | 36.5% | 227 | 0.8 miles |
| Swinton Queen Primary School | 58% | 4.4% | 28.5% | 339 | 0.8 miles |
| Brookfield Primary Academy | 72% | 6.2% | 35.5% | 260 | 1.2 miles |
| Wath Victoria Primary School | 48% | 5.5% | 42.8% | 279 | 1.2 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
-
Graded inspection report28 April 2026
- 23 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 50.8%
- English as an additional language
- 13.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.38%
- Persistent absence
- 17.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Montagu Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Mexborough
-
Mexborough St John the Baptist CofE Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Mexborough
-
Swinton Queen Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Mexborough
-
Brookfield Primary Academy1.2 miles
Primary · Mexborough
-
Wath Victoria Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Rotherham
Other schools in Mexborough
Highwoods Academy ranks 6th of the 10 ranked primary schools in Mexborough.
- Brookfield Primary Academy Primary
- Kilnhurst Primary School Primary
- Kilnhurst St Thomas' CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Mexborough St John the Baptist CofE Primary School Primary
- Montagu Academy Primary
- New Pastures Primary School Primary
- Swinton Fitzwilliam Primary School Primary
- Swinton Queen Primary School Primary
- Windhill Primary School Primary
- Swinton Academy Secondary
- The Laurel Academy Secondary
- Milton School Academies
Common questions
- What ages does Highwoods Academy teach?
- Highwoods Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Mexborough.
- Who is the head teacher of Highwoods Academy?
- The head teacher of Highwoods Academy is Mr Paul Rust, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Highwoods Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Highwoods 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 many pupils are at Highwoods Academy?
- Highwoods Academy has 198 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Highwoods Academy full?
- Highwoods Academy has capacity for 262 pupils and 198 on roll (76%), 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 Highwoods Academy a faith school?
- No. Highwoods Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Highwoods Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Highwoods Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Highwoods Academy part of an academy trust?
- Highwoods Academy is part of EMPOWERING MINDS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Highwoods Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Highwoods Academy compare with other schools in Doncaster?
- Highwoods Academy ranked 42nd of 87 primary schools in Doncaster for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Highwoods Academy's absence rate?
- Highwoods Academy's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Highwoods Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Highwoods 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 15 July 2026.