Airedale AcademyCastleford Academy

Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Castleford.

Summary of the comparison

Airedale Academy and Castleford Academy are secondary schools in Castleford.

  • Airedale Academy scores 33 out of 100 (grade F, weak) and Castleford Academy scores 66 out of 100 (grade C, average). Castleford Academy is ahead on our composite score.

  • Airedale Academy was judged Requires improvement and Castleford Academy was judged strong.

  • On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 33.8 for Airedale Academy and 48.5 for Castleford Academy.

  • GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Airedale Academy (41.1 in 2021-22, 33.8 in 2024-25) and has fallen at Castleford Academy (52.8 in 2021-22, 48.5 in 2024-25).

Side-by-side comparison

Airedale Academy versus Castleford Academy compared on inspection, results, pupils and attendance.
Measure CastlefordAiredale AcademyCastlefordCastleford AcademyEngland average
Overview
Our scoreF33/100C66/100Stronger figure
Local ranking18th of 18 in Wakefield 2nd of 18 in Wakefield Stronger figure
InspectionOfsted: Requires improvementOfsted: StrongStronger figure
School typeAcademy converter Academy converter
PhaseSecondary Secondary
Age range11-18 11-16
GenderMixed Mixed
Pupils on roll1,063 1,477
Capacity1,250 1,500
LocationCastleford, WF10 3JU Castleford, WF10 4JQ
GCSE results
Attainment 833.8 48.5 Stronger figure46.0
Grade 5+ in English & maths25.1% 50.5% Stronger figure45.4%
Grade 4+ in English & maths43.6% 66.8% Stronger figure64.8%
Entering EBacc4.6% 18.0% Stronger figure40.5%
EBacc average point score2.81 4.08 Stronger figure4.09
Cohort195 295
Pupils
Pupils in the census1,063 1,477
Free school meals (ever 6)49.7% 27.8%
English as an additional language7.9% 5.6%
SEN support16.9% 12.1%
SEN with an EHC plan3.9% 5.2%
Attendance
Overall absence15.2% 8.7% Stronger figure6.2%
Persistent absence41.9% 23.5% Stronger figure15.8%

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

Castleford Academy

Full profiles: Airedale Academy · Castleford Academy