Academy sponsor led

Outwood Academy Shafton

Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formBarnsley, Yorkshire and the Humber · Barnsley S72 8RETrust: Outwood Grange Academies TrustSchool website
Pupils on roll
1,377of 1,350 places
Free school meals
38.3%
Year 11 cohort 2025
263
Ofsted
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next, 7 May 2025Read the Ofsted report

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Shafton Advanced Learning Centre (URN 136371, until 18 December 2012).

What the data says

Outwood Academy Shafton has no sixth form. Of the 254 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 4% moved to a sixth form college, 69% to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.

Fine Art is unusually popular at GCSE: 28% of the year group took it, against 9% of pupils across England.

GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 42.0 against 46.1 across England and 44.0 in Barnsley, with 45% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

As an 11–16 school, Outwood Academy Shafton 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.

Outwood Academy Shafton
Barnsley
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureOutwood Academy ShaftonBarnsleyEngland
Pupils in the cohort2542,522607,348
Any sustained destination84%90%92%
Stayed in education75%82%86%
— school sixth form2%8%34%
— sixth form college4%3%13%
— further education college69%70%37%
— other education0%2%2%
Apprenticeship5%5%3%
Employment4%4%3%
No sustained destination8%7%6%
Destination unknown8%3%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureOutwood Academy ShaftonBarnsleyEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)42.044.046.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths45%45%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths63%64%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects23%36%41%
EBacc average point score3.583.904.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort37%32%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils34.033.134.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils46.749.150.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language6%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.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
Mathematics262100%88%14%22%67%
English Language262100%89%14%20%71%
English Literature262100%86%8%21%61%
Combined Science21582%65%4%9%54%
Geography12447%41%14%25%50%
History11243%41%23%26%54%
Fine Art7328%9%18%28%82%
Design and Technology5621%11%16%23%68%
Computer Science4718%13%4%30%60%
Biology4617%23%33%45%50%
Photography4417%6%27%19%100%
Graphic Communication3915%1%21%23%95%
French3614%18%42%29%89%
Physics249%23%54%46%96%
Spanish239%19%4%27%39%
Chemistry239%23%78%47%100%
Polish42%1%84%
Chinese10%1%75%
German10%5%33%
Music10%5%33%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Sports / Movement Science55
Health Studies50
Hospitality / Catering Studies45
Multimedia20
Music performance: Group15

Other secondary schools in Barnsley

Barnsley Academy

Academy sponsor led · 874 pupils

86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.1

Darton Academy

Academy sponsor led · 1,099 pupils

82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.1

Kirk Balk Academy

Academy sponsor led · 1,318 pupils

87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.0

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.