Thomas Deacon Academy

About Thomas Deacon Academy

Thomas Deacon Academy is a large mixed secondary school in Peterborough, catering for pupils aged 7 to 19. With 2,308 pupils on roll against a capacity of 2,560, it is not yet full, but demand is strong: for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 482 applications for 266 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.81, and made 191 offers to first-preference families from 192 first-preference applications. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 32.9%, significantly above the national average for secondary schools, which gives a clear indication of the socioeconomic profile of its intake. The school is a state-funded academy with no religious character, and its headteacher is Emily Gaunt. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2024, the school was judged Good across all five graded areas, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, maintaining the same rating it held in its previous inspection in 2019.

Academically, the school’s Progress 8 score for the 2023/24 cohort was -0.02, which is broadly in line with the national average and places it in the Average banding. This is slightly below the Peterborough local authority average of 0.03, but the difference is marginal. The Attainment 8 score was 39.6, and 50.6% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, while 31.3% achieved grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score was 3.21, though only 5.4% of pupils entered the EBacc combination of subjects. In the local authority rankings, the school sits 8th out of 12 schools on Progress 8, placing it in the bottom half of Peterborough’s secondaries. At A-level, the school’s value-added score was -0.01, again in line with the national average, and the average points per entry was 28.39, equivalent to a grade C. The best three A-levels averaged 29.39 points, also a C grade.

The school offers a wide range of facilities, including a swimming pool, sports hall, astro turf, science labs, art studios, and a sixth form centre. There is a substantial programme of extracurricular activities, with clubs ranging from chess and coding to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Model UN, and Young Enterprise. Sports on offer include swimming, gymnastics, martial arts, badminton, basketball, cricket, and athletics. The school’s SEND provisions cover nine areas, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language communication needs, and social, emotional and mental health support. Parent View responses, based on 50 respondents, show that 54% would recommend the school, though opinions are mixed: 70% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, but only 40% felt that concerns are dealt with properly, and 58% disagreed or strongly disagreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need. This is a school that suits families who value a broad curriculum and strong extracurricular offer, but who may want to investigate SEND support and pastoral care more closely.

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