Astrea Academy Dearne

About Astrea Academy Dearne

Astrea Academy Dearne’s headline Progress 8 score of -0.67 places it below the Barnsley local authority average of -0.51, meaning pupils here make less academic progress between Key Stage 2 and GCSEs than their peers across the borough. That gap is significant enough to put the school ninth out of eleven secondary schools in Barnsley, and in the bottom 50 per cent nationally. The school’s Progress 8 banding is officially described as ‘well below average’. Digging into the subject breakdown, the weakest areas are maths and the open bucket (which includes arts and vocational qualifications), both scoring -0.86, while English is the strongest at -0.39. The school’s Attainment 8 score of 39.6 is modest, and just 37 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, compared with 55.6 per cent at grade 4 or above. The EBacc average point score of 3.64 and the fact that only 17.1 per cent of pupils entered the full EBacc at grade 5 or above suggest a curriculum that is not heavily weighted toward the traditional academic suite.

Despite the below-average progress scores, Astrea Academy Dearne was rated Good overall in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2016. The inspection report highlights Good quality of education, personal development, and leadership and management, though behaviour and attitudes were judged as Requires Improvement. The school is large, with 1,106 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,200, and a high proportion of pupils — 44 per cent — are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. This context matters when interpreting the Progress 8 figures, as schools with higher levels of disadvantage often face greater challenges in boosting progress. The school does not have a sixth form, so pupils leave at 16.

For families considering Astrea Academy Dearne, the admissions picture is competitive: for 2025/26, the school received 242 applications for 187 places, with 161 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.29. The school offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, music rooms, and a chapel. Its SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities, with a dedicated SEN unit and resourced provision. Clubs include gardening, film, science, and Young Enterprise, while sports on offer range from rowing and hockey to dance and rounders. This is a school that suits families who value strong pastoral and SEND support and a broad extracurricular offer, but who are realistic about academic outcomes that currently trail the local average.

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