Castleford Academy, Castleford

From the headteacher's welcome: "Our vision of working together to achieve excellence for all is at the heart of everything we do, from corridors and classrooms, to sports pitches and beyond. Every day we aim to create a school where pupils feel safe, supported, challenged and inspired to achieve their very best and achieve their full potential."

In 2026, pupils at Castleford Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Wakefield and 47 across England.

48% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 48% in Wakefield and 47% in England.

That is down from 48.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.41: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 36.8, against 51.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 291 families put Castleford Academy as their first choice and 433 named it as one of their preferences, for 280 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 13 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Castleford Academy are Airedale Academy (1.3 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 39.4); St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy (2.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.1); Brigshaw High School (2.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.5); and Ark The King's School (2.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.8).

Castleford Academy's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

Castleford Academy is one of 9 schools run by Castleford Academy Trust, an academy trust.

150 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Castleford Academy (as of September 2025): 73% would recommend the school, 78% say their child is happy there and 48% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (90%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (48%).

Of the 301 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 88% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 51% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

5.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

Castleford Academy has a resourced provision for hearing impairment: 20 places, 19 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Castleford Rail Station, about 760 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Castleford Civic Centre, 60 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 313 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Wakefield (130), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Castleford Academy issued 290 suspensions, 19.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 6 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Castleford Academy are Castleford Park Junior Academy (under 0.1 miles), St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford (0.2 miles), Glasshoughton Infant Academy (0.2 miles) and Castleford Wheldon Infant School and Nursery (0.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.