Oulton Academy

About Oulton Academy

Oulton Academy’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 awarded it an overall rating of Outstanding, a remarkable turnaround from its previous Requires improvement grade in 2018. The inspection team judged the quality of education, personal development, and leadership and management all to be Outstanding, with behaviour and attitudes rated Good. The single most telling exam metric is the school’s Progress 8 score of 0.43, which is classified as ‘Above average’ nationally. This means that, on average, pupils at Oulton achieve nearly half a grade more per subject than students with similar starting points across England. To put that in context, the average Progress 8 score for secondary schools in Leeds is just 0.07, so Oulton is performing significantly above its local authority peers. The school ranks 13th out of 42 secondary schools in Leeds, placing it in the top 25% of schools in the city, and 48th out of 306 schools across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Looking deeper at the 2023/24 GCSE results, Oulton’s Attainment 8 score sits at 46.9, meaning the average pupil achieves just under a grade 5 across their best eight subjects. The basics measure shows that 68.5% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, though this drops to 45% when looking at the stronger grade 5 or above threshold. The English Baccalaureate entry rate is relatively low at 18.5%, with 16.5% of pupils achieving the EBacc at grade 4 or above. Breaking down the Progress 8 components, the strongest progress is in the EBacc subjects (0.61) and English (0.49), while maths progress is more modest at 0.14. The school’s EBacc average point score is 4.1, which aligns with a typical grade 4 pass. These figures paint a picture of a school that adds strong value across the curriculum, particularly in humanities and languages, while maintaining solid core subject outcomes.

Oulton Academy is a non-selective, non-religious secondary for 11 to 16 year olds with no sixth form, and it is currently oversubscribed. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 495 applications for 236 places, with 204 first-preference offers made from 207 first-preference applications — an oversubscription ratio of 2.1 to one. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 32.3%, and its capacity of 1,016 is exceeded by its current roll of 1,094 pupils, indicating strong local demand. Facilities include art studios, a theatre, science labs, music rooms, and a chapel, alongside extensive sports provision such as rugby, cricket, swimming, and tennis. The school offers a wide range of clubs including Debate, Model UN, DofE, and Young Enterprise, and its SEND provision covers nine areas including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Speech, Language & Communication needs, and Social, Emotional & Mental Health support. This is a school that suits families looking for strong academic progress in a well-resourced, inclusive setting, particularly those who value a broad extracurricular offer alongside solid GCSE outcomes.

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