The Laurel Academy
Maple Road, Mexborough, S64 9SD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Katy Taylor-Clarke
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Delta Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Doncaster North
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Pupils on roll
- 755
- URN
- 146639
- Local authority
- Doncaster
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01709302244
About this school
The Laurel Academy is a secondary academy in Mexborough. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 755 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Laurel Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 109 | 113 | 132 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.5 | 43.5 | 50.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.05 -0.22 to +0.32 | +0.17 -0.10 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 46% | 59.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 67.3% | 83.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 42% | 25.7% | 28.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.3 |
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 The Laurel 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 | 42.5 | 42 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.5 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.2 | 40.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 654 |
| 2023/24 | 705 |
| 2024/25 | 758 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Laurel Academy compares
The Laurel Academy ranked 2nd of 20 secondary schools in Doncaster for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.2 | 7.3% | 47.2% | 755 | — |
| Swinton Academy | 41.1 | 9.8% | 33.5% | 870 | 1.7 miles |
| Astrea Academy Dearne | 40.2 | 14% | 46.1% | 1,071 | 1.8 miles |
| Saint Pius X Catholic High School A Specialist School in Humanities | — | — | — | 687 | 1.9 miles |
| Wath Academy | 47.8 | 7.5% | 27.7% | 2,104 | 1.9 miles |
| De Warenne Academy | 48.9 | 9.3% | 41.7% | 762 | 2.7 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 47.23%
- English as an additional language
- 7.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.28%
- Persistent absence
- 21.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Swinton Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Mexborough
-
Astrea Academy Dearne1.8 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
Saint Pius X Catholic High School A Specialist School in Humanities1.9 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
Wath Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Rotherham
-
De Warenne Academy2.7 miles
Secondary · Doncaster
Other schools in Mexborough
- Swinton Academy Secondary
- Brookfield Primary Academy Primary
- Highwoods 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
- Milton School Academies
Common questions
- What ages does The Laurel Academy teach?
- The Laurel Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Mexborough.
- Who is the headteacher of The Laurel Academy?
- The headteacher of The Laurel Academy is Mrs Katy Taylor-Clarke, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Laurel Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Laurel 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 The Laurel Academy?
- The Laurel Academy has 755 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Laurel Academy a faith school?
- No. The Laurel Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Laurel Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Laurel 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 The Laurel Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.5 in 2022/23 and 50.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Laurel Academy compare with other schools in Doncaster?
- The Laurel Academy ranked 2nd of 20 secondary schools in Doncaster for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Laurel Academy's absence rate?
- The Laurel Academy's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Laurel Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Laurel 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.