Astrea Academy Dearne
Academy converter · 1,071 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.2
Academy special converter
Springwell Special Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 136of 132 places
- Free school meals
- 75.7%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 23
- Ofsted
- Good, 8 March 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Springwell Community Special School (URN 135275, until 1 December 2014).
What the data says
Of the 12 pupils who finished Year 11 at Springwell Special Academy in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 25% to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
33% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 5.8 against 46.1 across England and 44.0 in Barnsley, with 0% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
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 | Springwell Special Academy | Barnsley | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 12 | 2,522 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 67% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 67% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 8% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 3% | 13% |
| — further education college | 25% | 70% | 37% |
| — other education | 42% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 33% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Springwell Special Academy | Barnsley | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 5.8 | 44.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 45% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 0% | 36% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 0.32 | 3.90 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 83% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | — | 33.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | — | 49.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 0% | 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 | 29 | 100% | 88% | 0% | 22% | 0% |
| English Language | 26 | 100% | 89% | 0% | 20% | 0% |
| Citizenship Studies | 25 | 100% | 3% | 0% | 19% | 0% |
| Statistics | 22 | 96% | 5% | 0% | 20% | 0% |
| English Literature | 21 | 91% | 86% | 0% | 21% | 0% |
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
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
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.