Sheffield Springs Academy

About Sheffield Springs Academy

Sheffield Springs Academy’s headline Progress 8 score of -0.62 sits below the Sheffield local authority average of -0.4, placing it 21st out of 29 secondary schools in the area. This means that, on average, pupils here achieve nearly two-thirds of a grade less per subject across their eight best GCSEs than students in similar schools nationally. The school’s attainment 8 score of 33.7 and the fact that just 28.1% of pupils entered the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) suggest a curriculum that is not heavily weighted toward the traditional academic suite. With 58.2% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with significant economic disadvantage, and its results need to be read in that context. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, the school was rated Good across all four graded categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management — and it has held a Good rating since its previous inspection in 2019.

Digging into the GCSE breakdown, the school’s strongest Progress 8 element is English, where pupils score -0.5, while maths is slightly weaker at -0.64 and the EBacc subjects sit at -0.62. The percentage of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths (basics95Pct) is 28.1%, compared with 39.3% at the grade 4 threshold. Only 7.7% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 5 or above, which is low even by local standards. The school’s Progress 8 banding is classified as ‘Well below average’, and it ranks in the bottom 50 nationally, at 2,760 out of 3,141 schools. Parent View responses, collected between September 2024 and September 2025, show that only 31% of the 52 respondents would recommend the school. Concerns are most acute around SEND support — 54% strongly disagreed that children with special educational needs get the help they need — and around how concerns are handled, where 50% strongly disagreed that issues are dealt with properly.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 391 applications for 237 places and 202 first-preference offers made. Facilities include a theatre, chapel, astro turf, science labs, and a sports hall, and the school offers clubs ranging from Model UN and coding to gardening and debate. SEND provisions cover a wide spectrum, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language communication needs, and social, emotional and mental health difficulties. There is no sixth form, so pupils leave at 16. For families considering this school, the data paints a picture of a Good-rated school serving a high-poverty intake, where academic outcomes are below the local average and parental satisfaction is notably low, particularly around communication and SEND support. It may suit families who value the range of clubs and facilities and who are prepared to be proactive in advocating for their child’s needs.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Sheffield Springs Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents