Barnsley Academy
Academy sponsor led · 874 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.1
Academy converter
Astrea Academy Dearne
- Pupils on roll
- 1,071of 1,200 places
- Free school meals
- 45.6%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 195
- Ofsted
- Good, 10 May 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Dearne Advanced Learning Centre (URN 106656, until 1 November 2018).
What the data says
Astrea Academy Dearne has no sixth form. Of the 205 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 1% moved to a sixth form college, 70% to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 40.2 against 46.1 across England and 44.0 in Barnsley, with 40% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Fine Art is unusually popular at GCSE: 23% of the year group took it, against 9% of pupils across England.
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in Spanish and French add up to 19% of the year group, and 20% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
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 | Astrea Academy Dearne | Barnsley | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 205 | 2,522 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 85% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 76% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 4% | 8% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 1% | 3% | 13% |
| — further education college | 70% | 70% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 6% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Astrea Academy Dearne | Barnsley | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 40.2 | 44.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 45% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 20% | 36% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.44 | 3.90 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 39% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 30.6 | 33.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 46.4 | 49.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 9% | 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 | 188 | 96% | 88% | 14% | 22% | 66% |
| English Language | 187 | 96% | 89% | 13% | 20% | 63% |
| English Literature | 180 | 92% | 86% | 15% | 21% | 69% |
| Combined Science | 169 | 87% | 65% | 10% | 9% | 62% |
| Geography | 96 | 49% | 41% | 13% | 25% | 46% |
| History | 78 | 40% | 41% | 13% | 26% | 46% |
| Business Studies | 70 | 36% | 18% | 23% | 20% | 50% |
| Fine Art | 45 | 23% | 9% | 22% | 28% | 84% |
| Photography | 36 | 18% | 6% | 11% | 19% | 78% |
| Psychology | 25 | 13% | 3% | 12% | 22% | 56% |
| Spanish | 20 | 10% | 19% | 15% | 27% | 65% |
| Computer Science | 17 | 9% | 13% | 12% | 30% | 47% |
| French | 17 | 9% | 18% | 12% | 29% | 65% |
| Biology | 13 | 7% | 23% | 0% | 45% | 8% |
| Physics | 12 | 6% | 23% | 0% | 46% | 0% |
| Chemistry | 12 | 6% | 23% | 0% | 47% | 0% |
| Polish | 4 | 2% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Russian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 69 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 35 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 20 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 5 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Barnsley
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
Netherwood Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,229 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.6
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.