Leeds West Academy Review 2026: A large, inclusive 11 to 16 academy with clear routines and strong pastoral structures

Leeds West Academy is a sizeable, mixed secondary academy serving Bramley and the wider west Leeds area, with places for up to 1,500 students aged 11 to 16. In a city where families often weigh school culture as heavily as exam outcomes, this is a setting that puts clarity and consistency front and centre: simple rules, daily form-time routines, and a well-defined pastoral team structure.

The October 2024 Ofsted inspection found the school had taken effective action to maintain standards, and confirmed safeguarding arrangements are effective. That same report also gives a useful shorthand for the experience: calm corridors, respectful classrooms, and an emphasis on students feeling valued.

Academically, the FindMySchool data places Leeds West Academy below England average for GCSE outcomes, with a Progress 8 score of -0.3 and an Attainment 8 score of 38.6. Ranked 3,377th in England and 31st in Leeds for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), it is not a results-led outlier. For the right child, the offer is more about steady improvement, structured support, and a broad set of enrichment routes that can keep students engaged through Years 7 to 11.

This is a school that tries to make expectations easy to understand and easy to follow. The principal, Dan Whieldon, was confirmed as permanent Principal on 26 May 2021 (having been Acting Principal since September 2020), which matters because leadership stability tends to show up in routines, staff alignment, and behaviour consistency. A recurring theme across official material is a focus on community identity and shared language around values and conduct.

The school’s stated core values are Care, Commitment and Community, paired with three rules: Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe. That combination is more than branding if it is used as the reference point for everyday interactions, and the latest inspection evidence supports the idea that routines and relationships are working well for many pupils. Students are described as typically motivated in lessons, with classrooms organised around participation and a culture where mistakes are treated as part of learning rather than something to hide.

There is also a clear inclusion narrative. The October 2024 inspection report describes the school as happy and inclusive, with staff knowing pupils well and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to access the curriculum. That inclusive intent is reinforced by the school’s own emphasis on pastoral and additional needs support, including nurture spaces and structured teams focused on behaviour and attendance.

Finally, size matters. With around 1,450 pupils on roll (per Ofsted) and capacity of 1,500, Leeds West Academy can offer social breadth, multiple peer groups, and a wide timetable. The trade-off is that some children prefer smaller settings where they can feel “known” without needing to self-advocate. Here, feeling known tends to come through the form tutor and year team model, plus targeted support pathways for students who need additional structure.

Leeds West Academy’s FindMySchool GCSE profile is best read as “work in progress with clear improvement levers”, rather than a headline-results school.

Rankings (FindMySchool, based on official data)

Ranked 3,377th in England and 31st in Leeds for GCSE outcomes, which places it below England average overall.

Core attainment indicators (FindMySchool)

Attainment 8 score of 38.6, and Progress 8 score of -0.3, indicating students make less progress than similar pupils nationally from their starting points.

EBacc indicators (FindMySchool)

EBacc average point score of 3.18, compared with an England average of 4.08. The percentage achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc is recorded as 3.2%.

These figures suggest two practical implications for families. First, if your child is academically self-driven and you are prioritising strong EBacc outcomes across a broad academic suite, you will want to probe subject pathways, setting, and how the school closes knowledge gaps over time. Second, if your child benefits from structure, explicit teaching, and steady reinforcement, the school’s documented approach to curriculum sequencing and lesson routines may be a better fit than the raw numbers alone imply.

One strength in the current story is curriculum coherence. The October 2024 inspection report describes an ambitious curriculum, with careful work to identify important knowledge and sequence it effectively. Where the school is still tightening practice is in checking that knowledge is secure before moving to more complex concepts, because gaps can compound quickly at KS4.

A practical tip for parents comparing options: use the FindMySchool Local Hub comparison view to place Leeds West Academy alongside other Leeds secondaries on Attainment 8 and Progress 8, then shortlist based on fit as much as figures.

Teaching is framed around clarity: what students need to know, when they need to know it, and how it connects. The October 2024 inspection report supports that general picture, highlighting subject knowledge and careful selection of learning activities that build understanding in a planned order.

Reading is treated as a specific skill to be improved, not assumed. The inspection evidence describes a well-organised approach to identifying students who need help with reading, checking gaps, and providing catch-up support, alongside encouragement to read widely. This matters for secondary success because reading fluency underpins everything from science questions to extended writing in humanities.

For students who struggle to regulate, reintegrate, or remain engaged in mainstream lessons, the school operates its own on-site alternative provision called Step Academy. The inspection report indicates students in that provision still access a full curriculum offer and take part in wider school activities, which is usually a positive sign that the aim is reintegration rather than isolation.

Where Students Go Next

Leeds West Academy is an 11 to 16 school, so all students move on after GCSEs. The most useful evidence here is about preparation rather than published destination statistics. Careers provision is described as strong in the October 2024 inspection report, and the school’s careers programme includes a Year 10 work experience week scheduled for Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July 2026.

For families, that means the school is building practical “next step” readiness into the timetable, not leaving it to the final months of Year 11. In Leeds, post-16 routes typically include school sixth forms, sixth form colleges, further education colleges, and apprenticeship pathways, and the local authority publishes an overview of these options and how to access them.

A sensible question to ask at transition events is how the school supports applications to different pathways, for example how reference writing, predicted grades, and interview preparation are structured for both academic and technical routes.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated by Leeds City Council rather than handled directly by the academy. The council’s published timetable for September 2026 entry (the 2026 to 2027 coordinated scheme) sets out the key dates clearly.

For Year 7 entry in September 2026, the application window opens on 1 September 2025 and the national closing date is 31 October 2025. Leeds treats applications received or amended up to 28 November 2025 as on time (the cut-off date). Offer day for secondary places is Monday 2 March 2026, with offer acceptance needed by midnight on 20 March 2026.

Leeds also maintains waiting lists for all schools until at least 31 December 2026, and the scheme explains how allocations and reallocations are managed through the local authority up to the September start.

Because the dataset provided does not include Year 7 application volumes for this school, families should treat competitiveness as variable year to year and focus on the published oversubscription criteria and realistic travel plans.

If you are considering a move, the Leeds admissions scheme is explicit that addresses must be legally held, not future-intended addresses. This is worth reading carefully before relying on a prospective property purchase.

For families shortlisting by geography, the FindMySchool Map Search is the right tool to check realistic travel time and how your location sits against other options in west Leeds.

Pastoral support is organised around a predictable “who to go to” structure, which is often what parents most want to understand. The school describes form tutors as the key daily contact and first point of contact for families, with daily tutor-time visibility and a role in monitoring organisation, attendance, behaviour, and progress.

Each year group has a dedicated Year Manager, and the school also assigns Behaviour and Attendance Leaders to each key stage, with an explicit brief to identify barriers and coordinate support. That is a strong model on paper because it reduces the risk of “hand-offs” between teams, provided communication is tight and actions are followed through.

The inspection evidence points to a calm and orderly environment with respectful behaviour in lessons, and it notes that suspensions are decreasing significantly. The same report is candid about the next area to tighten: attendance improvement for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities has not improved enough, and that has a negative effect on achievement for some pupils. For families of children with SEND, that is an important conversation topic: how does the school work with parents to remove attendance barriers, and what targeted support is available when a child is anxious or dysregulated?

Leeds West Academy is notably specific about enrichment. Rather than relying on general claims, the school publishes timetables that show what runs, when, and for which year groups, including a mix of creative arts, sport, languages, and wellbeing activities.

A few examples that help illustrate breadth and intent:

• Creative and performing arts pathways. LWA Choir and LWA Band are offered for all years, and there is a Whole School Show rehearsal pathway alongside Musical Theatre. The implication is that performance is not treated as an occasional event, it is scheduled as an ongoing strand that rewards commitment and improves confidence through rehearsal discipline.

• Student voice and academic confidence. Debate club appears in the inspection report as a club students engage in, and the extracurricular timetable also lists Creative Writing. For students who are quietly capable, these clubs can be a low-stakes way to build oracy and structured argument, skills that translate directly into English language, history, and GCSE spoken endorsement work.

• Practical skills and engagement routes. Gardening Club, Building a Business, Baking, and Hair and Make-Up sit alongside Tech and Computing. This mix matters because it gives different learners a reason to stay connected to school life, including those who do not identify as “sporty” or “academic”.

Sport is well represented, including lunchtime football, basketball, and fitness slots, plus after-school clubs such as netball, rugby, badminton, trampolining and climbing. A practical detail that helps make this real is that activities are mapped to specific spaces such as the fitness suite, sports hall, MUGA, and astro.

Trips and visits also appear as part of the enrichment picture, with the school describing a programme that includes geography residential opportunities, a London residential, and theatre visits in Leeds. The implication here is that the school is trying to broaden cultural capital locally, not just through distant trips.

The school day is clearly structured. The building opens to students at 8:00am, with form-time “Be Ready” running 8:25am to 8:40am, and lessons finishing at 3:00pm. Total taught time is stated as 32.5 hours per week.

As an 11 to 16 secondary, the school does not operate wraparound care in the way a primary might. Families with early or late childcare needs should clarify breakfast access, after-school supervision arrangements, and club capacity for younger year groups directly with the school.

For travel planning, most families use local bus routes in the Bramley and Rodley area, and the school’s enrichment timetable suggests students remain on site beyond 3:00pm for clubs several days a week. That can be helpful for working parents, but it is worth checking whether a child can reliably attend clubs given transport home.

• Academic outcomes are below England average. Ranked 3,377th in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), with Progress 8 at -0.3, Leeds West Academy is not currently a high-results school. Families prioritising top-end exam outcomes should explore how subject support, setting, and revision culture are implemented in practice.

• SEND attendance remains a key improvement priority. The most recent inspection evidence indicates the attendance strategy has not improved attendance enough for too many pupils with SEND, which can limit achievement. This is a critical discussion point for families whose child may find school attendance challenging.

• EBacc indicators are weak. An EBacc APS of 3.18 versus an England average of 4.08 suggests that the EBacc pathway is not yet a consistent strength. If your child is aiming for a strongly academic EBacc profile, ask specifically about option patterns and uptake.

• No on-site sixth form. All students move on after Year 11, so you will want a clear plan for post-16 travel, course fit, and application support.

Leeds West Academy is best understood as a large, community-focused 11 to 16 academy that emphasises calm routines, clear behavioural expectations, and structured pastoral support, alongside a published and varied enrichment offer. The latest inspection evidence supports the picture of an orderly school where students are typically engaged and safeguarding is effective, with particular strengths in curriculum sequencing and inclusive practice.

It suits students who benefit from structure, predictable expectations, and a wide range of clubs that provide belonging beyond lessons. Families seeking consistently high GCSE outcomes and a strong EBacc pipeline should weigh the current results profile carefully, and probe how the school closes gaps and accelerates progress through KS4.