Maltby Academy Review 2026: A large 11–19 academy with a structured day and a clear careers focus

Maltby Academy is a state-funded secondary and sixth form in Maltby (Rotherham), serving students aged 11 to 19. The academy has operated in its current academy form since January 2010, with modern redevelopment across the site that includes a prominent Business and Enterprise Centre and a multi-block layout that separates subject areas.

Leadership is led by the Principal, Mr Wood, who has been in post since 2019 (as stated in trust governance information).

For parents, two realities matter most. First, the academy runs a highly structured, long-lesson timetable, with an 8:00 to 8:20 entry window and 100-minute teaching blocks across most of the week. Second, outcomes sit below the middle of the pack when benchmarked nationally, with FindMySchool rankings placing GCSE and A-level performance in the lower band nationally, although the sixth form remains a meaningful route for students who want a broad menu of academic and applied courses locally.

A strong organising feature here is structure. The academy publishes a detailed “Academy Day” model with defined entry routines, tutor time, long lessons, and year-specific scheduling. For many students, the benefit is clarity and consistency, particularly where concentration improves with fewer transitions and longer blocks for practical or extended tasks.

Pastoral life is shaped around a four-house system: Barts, Bede, Rolleston, and York. Houses act as a framework for identity, rewards and inter-house competitions, and the academy links this explicitly to peer support within year-group tutor structures.

Site identity is unusually explicit. The academy presents a “block” site plan that includes dedicated areas such as Block 1 (Business and Enterprise), Blocks 5 and 6 (Science and Technology), and Block 7 (Performing Arts). This matters because it signals a campus designed to move students between specialist zones rather than keeping learning in a single corridor model.

Maltby Academy is ranked by FindMySchool (based on official datasets) in a position that equates to below-England-average outcomes overall. At GCSE, the academy is ranked 2,800th in England and 8th in Rotherham in the FindMySchool GCSE outcome ranking. This places it below England average overall.

Progress is also slightly below average. The Progress 8 score is -0.13, which indicates students make a little less progress than pupils with similar starting points nationally.

At A-level, the academy is ranked 2,043rd in England and 4th in Rotherham, again placing it below England average overall in the FindMySchool A-level outcomes ranking.

For parents comparing options across the area, the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool can be a useful way to benchmark these positions against nearby schools using the same methodology.

The curriculum is presented as knowledge-led and assessment-led, with deliberate sequencing and a stated intention to avoid lowering expectations. The academy also publishes subject-level curriculum information (including planning documents), which usually signals a preference for consistency across classrooms and a common lesson narrative for students.

A distinctive thread in the academy’s messaging is business, enterprise, and employability. That shows up both in physical infrastructure (the Business and Enterprise block and centre) and in curriculum intent for business and enterprise learning. In practical terms, that orientation can help students connect classroom learning to pathways at 16 and 18, particularly for those who need a clear “why” behind subjects.

The academy’s published leavers-destination dataset for the 2023/24 cohort shows multiple routes rather than a single dominant pathway. For that cohort, 46% progressed to university, 8% started apprenticeships, 24% entered employment, and 3% went to further education. This pattern suggests the sixth form and post-16 provision supports mixed ambitions, including applied progression and work-based routes alongside university.

Oxbridge progression is present but at a small scale in the measured period. The combined dataset records two Cambridge applications, one offer, and one acceptance, with no Oxford figures recorded in that period. For students with that level of aspiration, the key question is less “whether it happens” and more “how the sixth form structures stretch, subject choice, and application coaching for the few who will pursue it.”

Year 7 entry (September 2026)

Admissions for Year 7 are co-ordinated through Rotherham Local Authority, and the published admission number for Year 7 is 200. The local authority’s 2026/27 secondary admissions booklet confirms the national closing date for applications as 31 October 2025. Offers are aligned to the national offer timetable; in 2026, the booklet states that decision emails or letters will be issued on 2 March 2026 (because 1 March can fall on a weekend).

Maltby Academy also publishes its own admissions arrangements for Year 7 entry in September 2026, including oversubscription criteria and a distance tie-break approach, with distance measured in a straight line methodology administered by the local authority admissions team.

Because last-distance data is not available here, families should avoid assuming that living “close-ish” will be sufficient in an oversubscribed year. Use the FindMySchool Map Search to check practical travel routes and to sense-check how realistic daily logistics are from your address, then validate with the local authority admissions process.

Sixth form entry (September 2026)

Sixth form admissions are clearly documented. The sixth form admissions arrangements state that applications may be submitted after the November open evening and that completed applications should be submitted by 13 February 2026. Interviews are scheduled to begin in January for entry the following September. The document also flags that competition for places is strong and that late applications may not be considered.

Course availability is broad and includes both A-levels and applied routes (for example, academic subjects such as Chemistry, English Literature, and Economics alongside applied pathways such as BTEC Applied Science and BTEC Sport, depending on the year’s offer).

Pastoral organisation is structured around houses and year-group tutor groups, with daily tutor contact and a weekly assembly rhythm. This model typically supports attendance tracking and early intervention because tutor groups meet frequently, and the academy presents the structure as a core mechanism for student support and expectations.

The published leadership structure also highlights safeguarding and attendance as a named senior responsibility within the vice principal portfolio, which indicates these functions are treated as core operational priorities rather than add-ons.

The academy’s enrichment model is a meaningful differentiator because it is built into the week for Key Stage 3 and reinforced via a broader after-school programme for Years 7 to 10. The academy describes a rotating enrichment model across the year, and also references academic after-school enrichment support for Year 11 in the run-up to examinations.

For families who want concrete examples rather than generic “lots of clubs”, the published enrichment materials include a STEM club linked to the First Tech Challenge, where students build and programme a robot for competition. That is a specific, skills-based offer that can suit students who prefer project work and engineering-style problem solving.

Sport is also positioned as a regular competitive and participation offer. The enrichment materials reference inter-school fixtures (often midweek) and access to a fitness suite for older year groups. For students in Years 9 to 13, having an on-site fitness suite can support routine and training consistency, particularly where sport is part of wellbeing or identity.

The published academy day starts with an 8:00 to 8:20 entry window (late mark after 8:20) and runs on long teaching blocks. For most students, the core day ends at 14:50, with an additional Period 4 for some Year 10 and Year 11 students on specified days.

Transport guidance is signposted through academy transport arrangements and travel-pass information for South Yorkshire, which is helpful for families planning longer commutes or post-16 travel independence.

Wraparound care is not typically a feature of secondary schools, but families should check the academy’s current enrichment timetable and any supervised study provision for Year 11 and sixth form if late collection is likely.

• Below-England-average benchmarking. FindMySchool rankings place GCSE and A-level outcomes in a below-average band nationally. This will not deter every family, but it should shape expectations and prompt careful questioning about improvement priorities, subject strengths, and support for catching up.

• Long lessons suit some learners better than others. 100-minute blocks can be effective for practical work and depth, but students who struggle with sustained focus may need strong routines and teacher scaffolding to get the benefit.

• Sixth form demand and deadlines. Sixth form admissions documentation describes competition for places as strong, with a published deadline of 13 February 2026 and interviews beginning in January. Families should plan early rather than relying on late applications.

• Admissions relies on published criteria, not informal assumptions. Both the local authority booklet and the academy’s own admissions arrangements set out criteria and tie-breaks. Families should read both carefully, especially if applying from outside the defined catchment area.

Maltby Academy suits families who want a large, structured 11–19 setting with clear routines, a house-based pastoral system, and a visible careers and enterprise direction across the site. It can work well for students who benefit from long lessons and who respond to predictable systems and enrichment that is part of the weekly rhythm. The key decision point is academic fit: FindMySchool benchmarking places outcomes below England average overall, so parents should dig into subject-level strength, attendance culture, and how the academy supports progress for their child’s starting point. Families interested in this option should use the Saved Schools feature to manage a shortlist, then compare it with local alternatives using the FindMySchool Comparison Tool.