John Smeaton Academy

Leeds · LS15 8TA

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 677 pupils, 40.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 13.3% on SEN support Behaviour 11.3% absence rate Staff 27.9% turnover Financials £12,106 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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John Smeaton Academy

General Information

Address: Barwick Road, Leeds, LS15 8TA – View on map
Phone: 01138313900
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Andrew Moncur
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 156 families put it first for 166 places – 9 for every 10 places. 96% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 7 · 2024 7 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

677 pupils out of 900 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 276
% eligible for free school meals: 40.8%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (less mixed than the Leeds average)
English as an additional language: 10% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 27.9% a year (Leeds 15.7%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 54% moved to another school, 46% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Leeds: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 109 (1.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 69 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 60 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Leeds, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 11.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 32.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced provision for Speech, language and communication 40 places · 40 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 13.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 28 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 23 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 9 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 27 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 29.5
Compared with the area: 17.0 points below the Leeds average (46.5)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−7.3 points against an expected 36.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 35% (Leeds 66%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolLeeds averageEngland↘ Falling Down 5.4 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 17.0 points below the Leeds average (46.5).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

42nd of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8

#40Leeds East Academy32.7
#41Co-op Academy Leeds30.5
#42John Smeaton Academy29.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School58.0
#2Horsforth School57.3
#3Abbey Grange Church of England Academy55.9
#4Boston Spa Academy55.6
#5Leeds Jewish Free School55.2
#6Roundhay School55.1
#7St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy55.0
#8Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language College54.6
#9The Morley Academy54.6
#10Allerton High School54.3
#11Garforth Academy53.1
#12Woodkirk Academy52.8
#13Guiseley School49.6
#14Mount St Mary's Catholic High School49.6
#15Wetherby High School49.4
#16Cockburn School49.1
#17The Farnley Academy49.1
#18The Ruth Gorse Academy49.1
#19Carr Manor Community School48.8
#20Allerton Grange School48.2
#21Brigshaw High School47.4
#22Dixons Trinity Chapeltown46.6
#23Rodillian Academy46.4
#24University Technical College Leeds46.2
#25Bruntcliffe Academy46.0
#26Temple Moor High School45.9
#27Crawshaw Academy45.2
#28Oulton Academy44.9
#29Pudsey Grammar School44.0
#30Cockburn John Charles Academy43.8
#31Lawnswood School42.3
#32Leeds West Academy41.7
#33Co-op Academy Priesthorpe41.1
#34Ralph Thoresby School39.7
#35Leeds City Academy38.3
#36Bishop Young Church of England Academy36.9
#37Dixons Unity Academy36.0
#38Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy35.1
#39Temple Learning Academy33.7
#40Leeds East Academy32.7
#41Co-op Academy Leeds30.5
#42John Smeaton Academy29.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 85.0%
Went into further education: 74.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
Science Double Award
English Literature
History
Geography
Spanish
Photography
French Language
Art & Design
Speech & Drama
Community Development
Computer Science
Religious Studies
Biology
Persian Language
Sports Studies
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

22nd of 36 secondary schools in Leeds for Ofsted rating

#20Guiseley SchoolGood
#21Horsforth SchoolGood
#22John Smeaton AcademyGood
#23Lawnswood SchoolGood
#24Leeds City AcademyGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Allerton High SchoolOutstanding
#2Boston Spa AcademyOutstanding
#3Cockburn SchoolOutstanding
#4Dixons Trinity ChapeltownOutstanding
#5Oulton AcademyOutstanding
#6Roundhay SchoolOutstanding
#7The Farnley AcademyOutstanding
#8The Ruth Gorse AcademyOutstanding
#9Trinity Academy LeedsOutstanding
#10Allerton Grange SchoolGood
#11Bishop Young Church of England AcademyGood
#12Brigshaw High SchoolGood
#13Bruntcliffe AcademyGood
#14Cardinal Heenan Catholic High SchoolGood
#15Carr Manor Community SchoolGood
#16Co-op Academy LeedsGood
#17Co-op Academy PriesthorpeGood
#18Cockburn Laurence Calvert AcademyGood
#19Dixons Unity AcademyGood
#20Guiseley SchoolGood
#21Horsforth SchoolGood
#22John Smeaton AcademyGood
#23Lawnswood SchoolGood
#24Leeds City AcademyGood
#25Leeds Jewish Free SchoolGood
#26Leeds West AcademyGood
#27Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language CollegeGood
#28Pudsey Grammar SchoolGood
#29Ralph Thoresby SchoolGood
#30Rodillian AcademyGood
#31Temple Moor High SchoolGood
#32University Technical College LeedsGood
#33Wetherby High SchoolGood
#34Woodkirk AcademyGood
#35Benton Park SchoolRequires improvement
#36Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £12,106 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

1st of 45 secondary schools in Leeds for spending per pupil

#1John Smeaton Academy£12,106
#2Leeds Jewish Free School£10,907
#3Co-op Academy Leeds£10,351

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1John Smeaton Academy£12,106
#2Leeds Jewish Free School£10,907
#3Co-op Academy Leeds£10,351
#4Leeds City Academy£10,196
#5Carr Manor Community School£9,372
#6Lawnswood School£9,266
#7Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy£9,242
#8Bishop Young Church of England Academy£9,084
#9Ralph Thoresby School£9,059
#10Mount St Mary's Catholic High School£8,959
#11University Technical College Leeds£8,887
#12Dixons Unity Academy£8,872
#13Leeds East Academy£8,864
#14Cockburn John Charles Academy£8,729
#15Temple Learning Academy£8,442
#16Allerton Grange School£8,163
#17Trinity Academy Leeds£8,149
#18Co-op Academy Priesthorpe£8,119
#19Pudsey Grammar School£7,983
#20Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School£7,949
#21Leeds West Academy£7,917
#22Oulton Academy£7,756
#23Dixons Trinity Chapeltown£7,746
#24The Morley Academy£7,739
#25Cockburn School£7,729
#26The Ruth Gorse Academy£7,661
#27Allerton High School£7,634
#28Temple Moor High School£7,564
#29Roundhay School£7,442
#30Brigshaw High School£7,424
#31Crawshaw Academy£7,364
#32St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy£7,316
#33Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language College£7,281
#34Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy£7,157
#35Wetherby High School£7,122
#36Horsforth School£6,944
#37Woodkirk Academy£6,905
#38Rodillian Academy£6,897
#39Guiseley School£6,844
#40Abbey Grange Church of England Academy£6,829
#41The Farnley Academy£6,750
#42Garforth Academy£6,706
#43Boston Spa Academy£6,513
#44Bruntcliffe Academy£6,401
#45Benton Park School£599

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Leeds: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered