Outwood Academy Hasland Hall Review 2026, A structured 11 to 16 academy with calm routines and a clear praise culture

A typical morning starts early here, with students arriving on site from 7.50am and lessons beginning at 8.30am, followed by an optional enrichment block that can run until 3.40pm.

Outwood Academy Hasland Hall is a mixed secondary academy in Hasland, Chesterfield, part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust. The latest Ofsted inspection in November 2023 judged the academy Good across all areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

In FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking (based on official data), the academy is ranked 1,623rd in England and 2nd in Chesterfield, which places it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

There is a strong emphasis on orderly learning. Classrooms are described as purposeful, and the wider tone is one of firm expectations supported by a visible reward system, including the academy’s Praising Stars approach and a wider culture of recognising positive achievement.

Pastoral language is clear and direct, with students encouraged to raise concerns using the academy’s “call it out” strategy. The personal development offer sits alongside this, with opportunities for student leadership and participation in roles such as Student Voice, sustainability activity, and ambassador programmes focused on anti bullying and mental wellbeing.

Leadership is also clearly signposted. The academy lists Ian Cooper as Principal, supported by a leadership team that includes vice principals and a SENDCo.

At GCSE level, the FindMySchool performance snapshot suggests broadly typical outcomes by England standards, with some indicators above average and others below.

The academy’s Attainment 8 score is 48. Its average EBacc average points score is 4.34. On EBacc at grade 5 or above, 18.2% of pupils achieved this threshold.

Progress is a key contextual point. A Progress 8 score of -0.17 indicates that, on average, students make slightly below average progress compared with pupils nationally who had similar prior attainment at the end of primary school.

For families comparing local options, FindMySchool’s Local Hub pages and Comparison Tool can be useful, particularly because the Chesterfield local rank (2nd) is stronger than the mid band England placement suggests, which can happen where local cohorts and intakes differ meaningfully.

Curriculum intent is presented as inclusive and ambitious, designed as a coherent five year journey with subject knowledge and skills built deliberately from one year to the next.

Teaching is characterised by strong subject knowledge and frequent questioning to identify misconceptions, with staff using tracking processes to decide when additional help is required. Reading support is a specific feature, with early stage readers described as being supported to build fluency and subject vocabulary, and the academy also references the Ruth Miskin Fresh Start programme in recent communications.

A useful nuance for parents is that expectations are high, but consistency matters. Where lesson sequencing moves pupils on too quickly, some students can become unsure about what to apply and may leave work incomplete. That improvement point is relevant for pupils who need extra checking for understanding, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

This is an 11 to 16 academy, so the main transition point is post 16. Careers and next steps support is treated as part of the mainstream experience, with students described as being supported into education, employment, or training pathways.

Because there is no published sixth form outcomes dataset in the supplied performance snapshot, the most practical approach for families is to ask directly about typical post 16 routes, including which local sixth forms and further education colleges are most common, and how guidance is tailored for apprenticeships as well as academic routes. Ofsted confirms the academy meets the provider access requirements that underpin technical and apprenticeship information.

Admissions are coordinated through Derbyshire’s local authority process rather than directly through the academy, even though the trust is the admissions authority.

For September 2026 entry, Derbyshire’s published secondary application window runs from 8 September 2025 to 31 October 2025. Offers are communicated on 2 March 2026 for on time applications made through the local authority system.

The academy’s published admission number for Year 7 in September 2026 is 172 places. When oversubscribed, the policy prioritises looked after and previously looked after children, then applies a combination of sibling and normal area criteria, with distance used as a tie break where needed.

If you are weighing proximity, FindMySchoolMap Search is a sensible way to sanity check how your address compares to typical local patterns, but it is also worth remembering that distance cut offs can change year to year depending on applicant distribution.

Pastoral support is described as high quality and structured, with an approach that aims to support students without lowering expectations. Students are also said to feel safe, and inspectors confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Where behaviour needs tightening, the academy uses dedicated spaces to help students reset and return to learning, including facilities referenced as the bridge and the personal learning centre. The important caveat is that, while most students respond well to the approach, the frequency of lesson removals and suspensions is identified as high, and reducing these is a stated improvement priority.

The extracurricular offer is positioned as part of the broader education rather than a bolt on. Students have access to elective after school enrichment and wider engagement programmes that include Student Voice and an Honours strand, alongside sustainability work and ambassador roles.

Trips and visits are used explicitly to broaden horizons and raise aspirations. One example referenced is an overseas trip to Cambodia linked to voluntary work, which indicates a willingness to plan beyond the usual domestic curriculum visits when appropriate.

Creative and civic elements appear in the day to day culture too. Students have contributed to a local Armistice memorial, and the academy describes deliberate work on celebrating diversity and encouraging social responsibility. For pupils who respond well to recognition, the Praising Stars approach and visible praise routines can be motivating, especially when paired with clear classroom structures.

The published school day runs from arrival on site at 7.50am, with lessons from 8.30am to 2.55pm and optional enrichment until 3.40pm. As an 11 to 16 academy, there is not a typical primary style wraparound offer, so families who need supervised care after enrichment should check what is currently available through the academy and local providers.

The site is in Hasland, Chesterfield. For most families, travel is likely to be a mix of walking, cycling, and local public transport depending on where you live, and it is worth stress testing journey time at the same time of day you would actually travel.

• Behaviour systems and removals. Expectations are described as high, but the level of lesson removals and suspensions is identified as high; families of pupils who struggle with regulation should ask how reintegration is handled day to day.

• Learning checks in lessons. Some teaching sequences can move students on before understanding is secure; pupils who need more scaffolding may benefit from asking how staff check completion and shown understanding over time.

• Post 16 planning. With education ending at 16 on site, the strength of guidance into sixth form, further education, and apprenticeships is a major value driver, so ask for clear examples of recent pathways and how choices are supported.

• Open events timing. The academy has run Year 6 open evening activity in September in recent years; families should watch for the updated schedule each autumn so they do not miss the window.

Outwood Academy Hasland Hall offers a structured secondary experience with a clear praise culture, strong routines, and a purposeful learning environment. The November 2023 inspection judgement and the detailed picture of curriculum intent support a view of a school that is organised and steadily improving.

It suits families who value clear expectations, visible recognition of positive behaviour, and a school that actively promotes personal development through roles and programmes as well as lessons. The main question to explore is how behaviour systems reduce lesson removals over time, and how post 16 pathways are planned for students with different ambitions.