Darton Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Barnsley
Ballfield Lane, Barnsley, S75 5EF
70
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 08/02/2023
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
92.7%
21.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,099
Capacity used
Nearly full92%
1,200 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
167 of 167 families who put it first got an offer
190
Places offered
365
Total applications
1.9
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 167 | 167 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 95 | 16 | ● 17% |
| 3rd preference | 103 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 365 | 183 | 50% |
1st preference success by year
Barnsley lets families list 3 preferences. 24 applications came from outside the council area (15 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Joseph Spencer
- Address
- Ballfield Lane, Darton, Barnsley, S75 5EF
- Phone
- 01226232306
- Local authority
- Barnsley
- Ward / constituency
- Darton West · Barnsley North
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 146320
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 22% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 4% | — | — |
| SEN support | 6% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST
1,099 pupils · 1,200 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
08 February 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Outstanding Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,151 pupils
Attendance
92.7%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
7.3%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
21.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.2%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 48.9 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.37 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 54% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 73% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.39 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 52.1 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 65% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 78.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 38.3% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.67 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 206 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 206 | 27% | 71% | 80% | |
| English Language | 206 | 36% | 73% | 84% | |
| English Literature | 202 | 30% | 71% | 81% | |
| Combined Science | 141 | 15% | 39% | 64% | |
| Art and Design | 113 | 10% | 35% | 56% | |
| History | 109 | 32% | 64% | 72% | |
| Geography | 79 | 28% | 63% | 71% | |
| Biology | 61 | 41% | 89% | 95% | |
| Physics | 59 | 36% | 90% | 98% | |
| Chemistry | 59 | 39% | 85% | 98% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 52 | 10% | 38% | 52% | |
| Spanish | 43 | 35% | 81% | 84% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Barnsley council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.