Astrea Academy Dearne
Academy converter · 1,071 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.2
Academy sponsor led
Barnsley Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 874of 900 places
- Free school meals
- 49.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 204
- Ofsted
- Standards maintained, 15 January 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Elmhirst School (URN 106647).
What the data says
Barnsley Academy has no sixth form. Of the 166 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 1% moved to a sixth form college, 83% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
Statistics is unusually popular at GCSE: 23% of the year group took it, against 5% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 45.1 against 46.1 across England and 44.0 in Barnsley, with 44% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, Barnsley Academy is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Barnsley and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Barnsley Academy | Barnsley | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 166 | 2,522 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 91% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 86% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 2% | 8% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 1% | 3% | 13% |
| — further education college | 83% | 70% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 2% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Barnsley Academy | Barnsley | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 45.1 | 44.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 44% | 45% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 44% | 36% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.12 | 3.90 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 43% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 35.9 | 33.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 52.0 | 49.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 19% | 8% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 204 | 100% | 88% | 13% | 22% | 64% |
| English Literature | 204 | 100% | 86% | 17% | 21% | 78% |
| English Language | 204 | 100% | 89% | 9% | 20% | 65% |
| Combined Science | 142 | 70% | 65% | 18% | 9% | 60% |
| Geography | 117 | 57% | 41% | 22% | 25% | 64% |
| Spanish | 94 | 46% | 19% | 17% | 27% | 69% |
| History | 59 | 29% | 41% | 20% | 26% | 63% |
| Business Studies | 58 | 28% | 18% | 22% | 20% | 76% |
| Chemistry | 53 | 26% | 23% | 23% | 47% | 94% |
| Biology | 53 | 26% | 23% | 21% | 45% | 94% |
| Physics | 53 | 26% | 23% | 19% | 46% | 96% |
| Statistics | 46 | 23% | 5% | 24% | 20% | 96% |
| Fine Art | 18 | 9% | 9% | 11% | 28% | 56% |
| Photography | 17 | 8% | 6% | 6% | 19% | 47% |
| Religious Studies | 17 | 8% | 31% | 29% | 32% | 82% |
| Polish | 11 | 5% | 1% | 100% | 84% | 100% |
| Music | 11 | 5% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 64% |
| Russian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Chinese | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Persian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 47 | — | — |
| Tourism | 37 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 32 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 30 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 24 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 18 | — | — |
Where Barnsley Academy is
Other secondary schools in Barnsley are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Barnsley’s allocation statistics.
Other secondary schools in Barnsley
Darton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,099 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.1
Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School
Academy sponsor led · 1,108 pupils
77% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.5
Horizon Community College
Academy converter · 1,909 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.8
Kirk Balk Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,318 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.0
Netherwood Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,229 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.6
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.