Castle Hall Academy Review 2026: Ambitious 11 to 16 Academy in Mirfield

A structured school day, clear routines, and an explicit focus on learning sit at the centre of Castle Hall Academy’s offer. Morning mastery sessions are part of the daily rhythm, designed to help students revisit and retain key knowledge over time, and staff emphasise consistency in classrooms and corridors.

The academy is part of Impact Education Multi Academy Trust and joined the trust in September 2018, a point referenced in official reporting as the start of significant improvement work.

Parents weighing up Castle Hall will typically be balancing three practical questions. First, whether the school’s structured approach and expectations feel like the right fit. Second, how competitive admission is for their address and feeder route. Third, how well the school’s inclusion support and attendance work aligns with their child’s needs and temperament.

Castle Hall presents itself as an ambitious, welcoming, and inclusive secondary where students are expected to take school seriously, but are also known well by staff. That combination matters in a mixed 11 to 16 setting, where the best experience tends to come from tight routines plus adults who notice when a student is drifting academically or socially.

Student responsibility is visible in the formal roles the school highlights. Anti-bullying ambassadors, prefect responsibilities, and targeted transition support for new Year 7 students are positioned as part of the culture, not add-ons. Those roles are useful indicators for parents, because they usually only work when behaviour is calm enough for older students to be trusted with genuine responsibility.

Leadership visibility is also clear. The headteacher is Paul Brook, and the school’s stated vision centres on academic excellence, character, and aspiration. The website does not consistently publish an appointment date for the headteacher, so families interested in leadership tenure should ask directly at open events or via governance channels.

Castle Hall’s latest FindMySchool GCSE ranking places it 2,675th in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 2nd locally within Mirfield. This level sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which usually reads as solid performance with clear room for further lift.

The school’s Attainment 8 score is 41.8. Attainment 8 is a broad measure across a student’s GCSE subjects, so it is best interpreted alongside progress, curriculum access, and attendance. Castle Hall’s Progress 8 score is 0.15, which indicates students make above-average progress from their starting points.

EBacc indicators are more mixed, which is not unusual for community intakes where a smaller share of students complete the full academic EBacc suite. The average EBacc APS is 3.64, and 11% of students achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc subjects.

For parents, the practical implication is this. The ranking is not an elite performance signal, but the positive progress figure suggests teaching and curriculum sequencing are helping students move forward effectively. In many families’ decision-making, that matters more than raw attainment, especially when a child is not already high-attaining at the end of primary.

Parents comparing options should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page to view outcomes side by side and track how progress and attainment compare across realistic alternatives.

The strongest evidence for Castle Hall’s teaching model is the emphasis on clarity, revisit, and consistency. Teachers are expected to be explicit about what is taught and how it is taught, with regular opportunities for students to return to prior learning. Morning mastery sessions are part of that, providing a predictable space to consolidate knowledge, address gaps, and reduce the likelihood that learning fades between units.

Reading is treated as a whole-school priority rather than a single-department concern. Students have repeated opportunities to read in dedicated time as well as within subject lessons, and those who need help with fluency receive additional support. For parents, this is a meaningful cultural marker because weak reading often becomes the hidden limiter in Years 9 to 11, particularly in humanities and science.

Curriculum breadth is clearly set out by the school. At Key Stage 3, subjects listed include English, mathematics, science, humanities, Spanish, design and technology, music, art and design, physical education, and computing, alongside personal development. At Key Stage 4, core subjects are supplemented by options that include, among others, history, geography, religious studies, business studies, photography, food technology, health and social care, and music.

Castle Hall is an 11 to 16 school, so post-16 planning is a central part of the Year 10 and Year 11 experience rather than a sixth form transition within the same site. The school describes its careers programme as structured against the Gatsby Benchmarks and provides personal guidance through an independent careers adviser working in school for part of the week, with Year 11 students offered at least one guidance appointment.

For families, the implication is increased clarity at decision points. A well-run careers programme tends to reduce last-minute course choices and helps students understand what different routes require, including entry requirements, subject combinations, and the practical differences between sixth form and college. This matters most for students who do not have a fixed plan at 14, which is a large proportion of any cohort.

The Ofsted report also notes strengthened personal development and a focus on building aspiration and confidence, with older students valuing the personalised careers advice they receive.

Applications for Year 7 are coordinated through Kirklees, and the school explicitly states that applications for entry to the Year 7 cohort in 2026 to 2027 should be received by 31 October 2025.

The published admission number for Year 7 entry is 180. Where the school is oversubscribed, priority categories include children with an Education, Health and Care plan naming the school, looked after and previously looked after children, siblings, and named feeder routes, with distance used where needed as a determining factor. The admissions policy provides detail on how distance is measured and how tie-breaks operate.

Open events are a useful practical step for families deciding whether Castle Hall’s structure and expectations fit their child. Kirklees lists a Castle Hall Academy open evening on Thursday 25 September, 4:00pm to 8:00pm, for families planning secondary transfer.

Demand data indicates the school is oversubscribed. Where admission is likely to be tight, parents should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check their precise distance and to keep their shortlist realistic, particularly if distance becomes the final criterion once higher priority groups are placed.

Safeguarding and student welfare are treated as core business rather than a compliance exercise. The most recent inspection confirms that safeguarding arrangements are effective, and the report describes students as happy and safe, with bullying concerns addressed quickly.

Castle Hall also sets out specific safeguarding mechanisms on its website, including designated safeguarding leadership roles, online safety education, and the use of the Encompass notification system to support children affected by incidents of domestic abuse. This is important because it signals operational links between school and local safeguarding partners, which is often what makes early intervention effective.

Wellbeing support includes access to in-school counselling for students where need is identified, and the school describes an inclusion-led referral route. Alongside that, personal development education explicitly covers mental health and wider health and relationships topics.

Extracurricular life at Castle Hall is notable for being timetable-led, with specific clubs running at lunch and after school, rather than being left to ad hoc staff availability. That tends to improve take-up because students can plan around predictable sessions, and parents can align transport with known finish times.

The club list includes a mixture of academic extension, creative arts, and active options. Examples include Debate Club, Creative Writing, School Newspaper, UKMT challenge support, Science Club, and Computer Skills, alongside Choir, Band Club, Music Tech, Drama Club, and Musical Theatre.

There is also breadth for students who want something social and hobby-led rather than performance-led, such as DnD (Compass), Pokémon club, Triolingo, and Duolingo. Sport and activity choices include football, netball, gymnastics, and fitness sessions, with Darts Club appearing as a lower-pressure option that still builds coordination and sustained practice.

The implication for families is straightforward. Students who thrive with routine and identity-building beyond lessons will usually find something that anchors them, whether that is performance, competition, service, or a structured lunchtime group.

The school day runs from 8:30am to 3.30pm on Monday to Thursday, and from 8.30am to 1.25pm on Friday, totalling 32 hours and 55 minutes per week. Students are expected on site by 8.25am.

A free breakfast club runs daily between 7.50am and 8.20am, which can be a meaningful support for families juggling early starts. After-school activities are scheduled to run to around 4.20pm on club days shown in the published timetable.

For travel, the school recommends walking or public transport where possible and asks families who drive to drop off and collect responsibly, parking away from the immediate site to reduce congestion.

• Admissions priority structure. The admissions policy includes defined priority categories, including feeder routes and sibling priority, before distance is used. Families outside those categories should read the policy carefully and attend an open event to sense how competitive their route is likely to be.

• Attendance as a strategic focus. Official reporting highlights that a minority of students do not attend well enough, and this can limit progress even where teaching is strong. Families should ask how attendance is monitored and what support is offered when absence becomes a pattern.

• SEND coordination and joined-up leadership. The school’s inclusive intent is clear, including a stated commitment that students with additional needs access the same curriculum. External evaluation also signals that leadership collaboration around SEND remains an area to keep sharpening, particularly where behaviour, attendance, and SEND factors overlap.

• Friday early finish. A 1.25pm finish can be a real benefit for staff workload and student rhythm, but it can create childcare and transport complexity for some families, especially where adults work standard hours.

Castle Hall Academy offers a structured, improvement-driven secondary experience with clear routines, deliberate revisit of learning through mastery sessions, and a visible focus on inclusion and safety. The GCSE performance profile is broadly in line with the middle range of schools in England, while the positive progress score points to students being moved forward effectively from their starting points.

Best suited to families who want a disciplined learning environment with predictable routines, a careers programme that supports post-16 choices, and extracurricular options that include both academic extension and hobby-led clubs. The main decision points are admissions route competitiveness and whether the school’s expectations and structure align with the child’s temperament.