John Smeaton Academy
Barwick Road, Leeds, LS15 8TA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE GORSE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Moncur
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The GORSE Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Leeds East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 677
- URN
- 148793
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01138313900
About this school
John Smeaton Academy is a secondary academy in Leeds. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 677 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Smeaton 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 | 149 | 147 | 112 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.9 | 32.5 | 29.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.85 -1.08 to -0.62 | -0.90 -1.13 to -0.66 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 23% | 26.5% | 14.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46% | 41.5% | 34.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 21% | 49.7% | 58% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.9 | 2.9 | 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 John Smeaton 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 | Leeds average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 34.9 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 32.5 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 29.5 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 638 |
| 2023/24 | 604 |
| 2024/25 | 610 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Smeaton Academy compares
John Smeaton Academy ranked 42nd of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 22% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 29.5 | 11.3% | 43.1% | 677 | — |
| Leeds East Academy | 32.7 | 17.4% | 59.6% | 967 | 1.1 miles |
| Temple Moor High School | 45.9 | 9.2% | 25.3% | 1,341 | 1.7 miles |
| Bishop Young Church of England Academy | 36.9 | 12.1% | 54.7% | 777 | 1.7 miles |
| Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy | 35.1 | 12.4% | 40.6% | 784 | 2.4 miles |
| Garforth Academy | 53.1 | 7.1% | 17.5% | 1,897 | 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)
- 43.11%
- English as an additional language
- 9.2%
- Overall absence
- 11.26%
- Persistent absence
- 32.03%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leeds East Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Temple Moor High School1.7 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Bishop Young Church of England Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy2.4 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Garforth Academy2.7 miles
Secondary · Leeds
Other schools in Leeds
John Smeaton Academy ranks 33rd of the 33 ranked secondary schools in Leeds.
- Abbey Grange Church of England Academy Secondary
- Allerton Grange School Secondary
- Allerton High School Secondary
- Benton Park School Secondary
- Bishop Young Church of England Academy Secondary
- Bruntcliffe Academy Secondary
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School Secondary
- Co-op Academy Leeds Secondary
- Cockburn John Charles Academy Secondary
- Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy Secondary
- Cockburn School Secondary
- Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does John Smeaton Academy teach?
- John Smeaton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Leeds.
- Who is the headteacher of John Smeaton Academy?
- The headteacher of John Smeaton Academy is Mr Andrew Moncur, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Smeaton Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Smeaton 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 John Smeaton Academy?
- John Smeaton Academy has 677 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is John Smeaton Academy full?
- John Smeaton Academy has capacity for 900 pupils and 677 on roll (75%), 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 John Smeaton Academy a faith school?
- No. John Smeaton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is John Smeaton Academy a selective school?
- No. John Smeaton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is John Smeaton Academy part of an academy trust?
- John Smeaton Academy is part of THE GORSE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does John Smeaton Academy have?
- The schools register lists John Smeaton Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have John Smeaton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.9 in 2022/23 and 29.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Smeaton Academy compare with other schools in Leeds?
- John Smeaton Academy ranked 42nd of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 22% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Smeaton Academy's absence rate?
- John Smeaton Academy's overall absence rate is 11.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Smeaton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Smeaton 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.