Airedale AcademyArk the King's School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side.
Summary of the comparison
Airedale Academy and Ark the King's School are secondary schools.
Airedale Academy scores 33 out of 100 (grade F, weak) and Ark the King's School scores 65 out of 100 (grade C, average). Ark the King's School is ahead on our composite score.
Airedale Academy was judged Requires improvement and Ark the King's School was judged Good.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 33.8 for Airedale Academy and 49.9 for Ark the King's School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Airedale Academy (41.1 in 2021-22, 33.8 in 2024-25) and has fallen at Ark the King's School (52.6 in 2021-22, 49.9 in 2024-25).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | CastlefordAiredale Academy | PontefractArk the King's School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | F33/100 | C65/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 18th of 18 in Wakefield | 3rd of 18 in Wakefield Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Requires improvement | Ofsted: GoodStronger figure | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-18 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 1,008 | 1,041 | |
| Capacity | 1,250 | 1,050 | |
| Location | Castleford, WF10 3JU | Pontefract, WF8 4JF | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 33.8 | 49.9 Stronger figure | 46.0 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 25.1% | 60.2% Stronger figure | 45.4% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 43.6% | 75.7% Stronger figure | 64.8% |
| Entering EBacc | 4.6% | 46.6% Stronger figure | 40.5% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.81 | 4.52 Stronger figure | 4.09 |
| Cohort | 195 | 206 | |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 1,063 | 1,038 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 49.7% | 24.4% | |
| English as an additional language | 7.9% | 5.7% | |
| SEN support | 16.9% | 11.8% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 3.9% | 2.7% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 15.2% | 6.6% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 41.9% | 16.7% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Airedale Academy
Ark the King's School
Full profiles: Airedale Academy · Ark the King's School