Outwood Academy Freeston

About Outwood Academy Freeston

Outwood Academy Freeston in Wakefield has seen a notable turnaround, with its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2025 awarding Good ratings across the board for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This is a significant improvement from its previous inspection in 2022, where the school was rated Requires Improvement overall, with personal development and behaviour and attitudes both marked as Requires Improvement. The school's Progress 8 score for the 2023/24 academic year sits at -0.18, which is below the national average of 0 and places it 16th out of 18 schools in the Wakefield local authority. This score is categorised as 'Average' in the national banding system, and it ranks in the bottom 50% nationally at the 62.8th percentile. While the overall Progress 8 figure is slightly negative, the breakdown shows a more nuanced picture, with English achieving a positive Progress 8 score of 0.11, while maths is close to average at -0.03.

Looking at the broader academic picture, the school's Attainment 8 score is 42.9, and 48.4% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, with 66.8% achieving a grade 4 or above. The EBacc average point score is 3.88, with 37.9% of pupils entering the EBacc combination of subjects. The school's Progress 8 score of -0.18 compares unfavourably with the Wakefield local authority average of 0, and it sits well behind the top-performing peers in the area, such as Castleford Academy with a score of 0.41. Parent views, gathered from 134 responses between September 2024 and September 2025, show a mixed picture: 54% would recommend the school, but 46% would not. While 68% of parents agree or strongly agree that their child does well at the school, only 52% feel concerns are dealt with properly, and 50% disagree or strongly disagree that SEND children receive the support they need.

The school is a mixed secondary for ages 11 to 16 with no sixth form, and it is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, receiving 287 applications for 204 places, with 202 first-preference offers made from 211 first-preference applications. Facilities include a library, science labs, a sports hall, gymnasium, astro turf, and music rooms, with a wide range of sports on offer including rowing, football, cricket, and martial arts. Clubs cover drama, choir, eco club, and young enterprise, among others. The school has identified SEND provisions for a range of needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, social, emotional and mental health needs, and specific learning difficulties like dyslexia. With 29.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage. This school may suit families who value the recent Ofsted improvement and are looking for a large, oversubscribed secondary with a broad curriculum and activities, but who are mindful of the mixed parent feedback and the below-average Progress 8 score relative to the local authority.

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