Newsome Academy

About Newsome Academy

Newsome Academy is a mixed 11-16 state secondary in Kirklees, currently home to 801 pupils against a capacity of 900, meaning it operates with around 89% of its places filled. That spare capacity is notable given the school is significantly oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 350 applications for 149 places, an oversubscription ratio of 2.35 to one, with 117 first-preference offers made. The school serves a community with a high level of disadvantage — 46% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average of around 23% for secondary schools. This context matters when interpreting the school’s academic results, as schools with higher FSM rates often face additional challenges. The headteacher is Dean Watkin, and the school has no religious character. It does not have a sixth form or nursery provision, and is not a boarding school.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2024, Newsome Academy was rated Good overall, a significant improvement from its previous Inadequate rating in 2018. Behaviour and attitudes were judged Outstanding, while leadership and management, quality of education, and personal development all received Good. Academically, the school’s Progress 8 score for the 2023/24 academic year was -0.19, placing it in the ‘Average’ band nationally. This is below the Kirklees local authority average of +0.07, and ranks Newsome 18th out of 24 secondary schools in the area. Its Attainment 8 score was 41.6, and 61.2% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though only 33.1% achieved grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score was 3.87, with 77% of pupils entering the EBacc combination of subjects. The school’s national ranking by Progress 8 places it in the bottom half of schools, at the 63rd percentile.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including science labs, a theatre, art studios, a library, tennis courts, playing fields, and a chapel. Sports provision covers tennis, badminton, rowing, netball, athletics, rounders, cross country, basketball, and gymnastics. Extra-curricular clubs include Young Enterprise, choir, coding, drama, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and film club. SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and a resourced provision. For families considering Newsome, the data suggests a school that has turned around from a difficult Ofsted history, is in high demand locally, and serves a disadvantaged intake with solid but not outstanding academic outcomes. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Moor End Academy, 1.6 km away.

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