The Farnley Academy

General Information

Address: Chapel Lane, Farnley, Leeds, LS12 5EU
Phone: 01132630741
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Richard Cooper
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Number of pupils: 1492
School capacity: 1210
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 524
% eligible for free school meals: 35.3%
Nursery provision: No

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.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 8.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.6%
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

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 17.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 57 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 53 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 52 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 44 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 40 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

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 –

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

Outstanding 2023 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.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 49.1
Data year: 2024/25

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.

Ranked #16 of 39 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#14Wetherby High School49.4
#15Cockburn School49.1
#16The Farnley Academy49.1
#17The Ruth Gorse Academy49.1
#18Allerton Grange School48.2

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#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
#6St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy55.0
#7Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language College54.6
#8The Morley Academy54.6
#9Allerton High School54.3
#10Garforth Academy53.1
#11Woodkirk Academy52.8
#12Guiseley School49.6
#13Mount St Mary's Catholic High School49.6
#14Wetherby High School49.4
#15Cockburn School49.1
#16The Farnley Academy49.1
#17The Ruth Gorse Academy49.1
#18Allerton Grange School48.2
#19Brigshaw High School47.4
#20Rodillian Academy46.4
#21University Technical College Leeds46.2
#22Bruntcliffe Academy46.0
#23Temple Moor High School45.9
#24Crawshaw Academy45.2
#25Oulton Academy44.9
#26Pudsey Grammar School44.0
#27Cockburn John Charles Academy43.8
#28Lawnswood School42.3
#29Leeds West Academy41.7
#30Co-op Academy Priesthorpe41.1
#31Ralph Thoresby School39.7
#32Leeds City Academy38.3
#33Bishop Young Church of England Academy36.9
#34Dixons Unity Academy36.0
#35Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy35.1
#36Leeds East Academy32.7
#37Co-op Academy Leeds30.5
#38John Smeaton Academy29.5
#39Luminate Education Group19.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 88.0%
Went into further education: 81.0%
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
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
Community Development
Spanish
Geography
Art & Design
French Language
Computer Science
Religious Studies
Speech & Drama
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Statistics
Chinese
Polish
Italian
Urdu
Portuguese
Persian Language
Business Studies

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

Ranked #4 of 30 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#2Cockburn SchoolOutstanding
#3Oulton AcademyOutstanding
#4The Farnley AcademyOutstanding
#5The Ruth Gorse AcademyOutstanding
#6Trinity Academy LeedsOutstanding

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.

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

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £6,750 (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.

Ranked #38 of 43 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#36Guiseley School£6,844
#37Abbey Grange Church of England Academy£6,829
#38The Farnley Academy£6,750
#39Garforth Academy£6,706
#40Boston Spa Academy£6,513

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.

#1John Smeaton Academy£12,106
#2Leeds Jewish Free School£10,907
#3Co-op Academy Leeds£10,351
#4Leeds City Academy£10,196
#5Leeds Mathematics School£10,018
#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
#15Allerton Grange School£8,163
#16Trinity Academy Leeds£8,149
#17Co-op Academy Priesthorpe£8,119
#18Pudsey Grammar School£7,983
#19Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School£7,949
#20Leeds West Academy£7,917
#21Oulton Academy£7,756
#22The Morley Academy£7,739
#23Cockburn School£7,729
#24The Ruth Gorse Academy£7,661
#25Allerton High School£7,634
#26Temple Moor High School£7,564
#27Brigshaw High School£7,424
#28Crawshaw Academy£7,364
#29St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy£7,316
#30Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language College£7,281
#31Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy£7,157
#32Wetherby High School£7,122
#33Horsforth School£6,944
#34Woodkirk Academy£6,905
#35Rodillian Academy£6,897
#36Guiseley School£6,844
#37Abbey Grange Church of England Academy£6,829
#38The Farnley Academy£6,750
#39Garforth Academy£6,706
#40Boston Spa Academy£6,513
#41Bruntcliffe Academy£6,401
#42Elliott Hudson College£5,359
#43Benton Park School£599

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

General Information

Behaviour

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