Outwood Academy City Fields Review 2026: A structured, trust-backed secondary with clear routines and a practical enrichment offer

A school day that starts early, ends early, and makes space for enrichment, sits at the centre of this academy’s offer. The compulsory day runs from 08:20 to 14:50, with a dedicated Personal Development and Growth slot each morning and enrichment built into the end of the day.

Leadership is stable. Michelle Colledge-Smith is listed as Principal, and the academy’s governance record shows an appointment date of 26 September 2019 in the ex-officio principal role.

The most recent full inspection outcome is Good, with a key nuance: Behaviour and attitudes was graded Requires Improvement, even while quality of education, personal development, and leadership and management were graded Good.

For families, the core question is fit. This is an 11 to 16 school, so the post-16 pathway is a separate decision, and the academy’s day-to-day experience is shaped by routines, behaviour expectations, reading support, and a trust-wide approach to personal development.

The academy presents itself through a clear set of messages: students first, a positive climate for learning, and a culture of success. Those themes are consistent across its public-facing pages and match the emphasis in the most recent inspection narrative on leaders setting high ambitions and staff mirroring those expectations.

A useful practical signal of culture is how support roles are described. Students are directed towards Learning Managers as trusted adults, and there is explicit acknowledgement that the behaviour of a minority can disrupt lessons, which is an honest starting point for families weighing how much structure their child needs to do well.

The day structure reinforces that sense of routine. Students arrive at 08:20, with the day organised into five teaching periods plus a morning personal development slot and a timetabled enrichment window at 14:50. For some students, the predictability is calming and helps them manage transitions. For others, especially those who prefer a looser feel, it can feel more formal.

Breakfast provision is another indicator of tone. The academy offers free breakfast from 08:00 in the Bistro through the National School Breakfast Programme, with bagels and cereals listed. It is a practical offer that can matter for punctuality, concentration, and family logistics.

FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking places the academy at 2,869th in England and 14th in Wakefield for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This places the school below England average overall, within the lower 40% of schools in England on that measure.

The attainment and progress picture is mixed, which is often where the most useful conversation sits for parents. The school’s Progress 8 score is 0.08, indicating slightly above-average progress from students’ starting points across eight subjects. At the same time, the average Attainment 8 score is 38.6, which suggests that overall grades remain an area to keep improving.

On the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) measures the average EBacc APS is 3.51 (England average 4.08), and 13.2% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc.

What does that mean in practice. This profile tends to suit families who prioritise steady progress, good routine, and clear teaching, and who want to understand what the academy is doing to move outcomes upward over time. If your child is already strongly self-motivated and aiming for a very high academic ceiling, it is worth probing subject-by-subject provision, set structures, and stretch opportunities when speaking to the school.

Parents comparing local options can use the FindMySchool local hub pages to view these measures side-by-side using the Comparison Tool, which is often the fastest way to put one school’s outcomes into local context.

Curriculum intent and classroom delivery matter most when results sit in a development phase. Here, the most recent inspection describes ambitious and well-planned programmes of study, including access to the EBacc subjects, with lesson sequences designed to connect prior learning to new content. Teachers are described as having strong subject knowledge and checking understanding effectively.

Reading is positioned as a priority, with targeted support for the weakest readers and for students with English as an additional language. For families, that is a meaningful detail because reading fluency underpins achievement across subjects, particularly in a secondary setting where curriculum language becomes more specialised from Year 8 onwards.

SEND support is an area to explore carefully, not because support is absent, but because the inspection describes provision as being in transition at that time, with variability in how effective support felt for different students. The right approach for parents is to ask practical questions about identification, classroom strategies, and how plans are reviewed, particularly if your child needs consistent adaptations across multiple subjects.

Revision support is referenced directly in the academy’s exam guidance, including encouragement for students to attend enrichment and additional revision classes during half-term and Easter periods. If your child benefits from structured catch-up and clearly scheduled support, that alignment between day-to-day routines and exam preparation may be a positive.

Where Students Go Next

As an 11 to 16 academy, post-16 progression is not an internal sixth form route. The practical implication is that Year 11 is a transition point for every student, and families should plan early for the next stage.

The wider trust network does run post-16 provision locally, and open-evening style events for post-16 routes appear to take place in early November in the local area. For example, a post-16 open evening invitation was published for Tuesday 4 November 2025 at a nearby trust academy, with timed presentations across the evening. As dates change year by year, families should expect a similar early November pattern and confirm the current year’s schedule directly.

Careers education is also part of the story. The inspection describes an effective careers programme and explicit compliance with the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide information about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. That matters for students who want a clear view of alternatives to the traditional A-level route, including college and apprenticeship pathways.

Applications for Year 7 are coordinated through Wakefield Council’s online Parent Portal for residents, with the portal opening on 1 September 2025 for September 2026 entry. The national closing date for on-time applications is 31 October 2025.

Wakefield Council also publishes the date when offers can be viewed online, listed as from 00:30 on 2 March 2026. This is a useful operational detail for families, especially where childcare plans or appeals timelines may follow quickly.

The academy’s own admissions page confirms that applications are made through the Local Authority’s common application route in line with the School Admissions Code, rather than directly to the academy.

Open events for incoming Year 6 families tend to sit early in the autumn term. An invitation was published for a Year 6 Open Evening on Tuesday 7 October 2025. For families planning ahead, the safest assumption is an early October pattern, with exact dates confirmed each year.

Families considering admission should use the FindMySchoolMap Search to understand how school allocation works locally and to keep track of their shortlist, even where the key decision factor may be criteria-based rather than purely distance-based.

Safeguarding is a clear baseline requirement. The most recent inspection states that safeguarding arrangements were effective, with staff training and referral processes described as strong, and leaders acting quickly when pupils need help.

Pastoral support is also reflected in the language students use for trusted adults, including Learning Managers, and in the school’s emphasis on a personal development curriculum built into the day. The practical question for parents is consistency: how reliably expectations are applied across different lessons, and how quickly issues are dealt with when behaviour disrupts learning.

The inspection describes that most pupils behave well most of the time, while a minority can disrupt lessons and frustrate others, with leaders working to improve this. For some families, that transparency is reassuring, because it indicates the academy recognises the challenge and is actively working on it. For others, particularly if your child is highly sensitive to classroom disruption, it is a reason to ask direct questions about current behaviour trends, how sanctions and support work, and how the academy protects lesson time for students who are ready to learn.

Enrichment is built into the timetable at the end of the compulsory day, which is a practical advantage compared with schools where clubs rely on ad hoc staff availability. The academy describes elective after-school enrichment and student engagement programmes designed to add sporting, performance, craft, social, and academic opportunities.

Several named pathways stand out as specific options rather than generic marketing. The school references Student Voice, Honours, and Sustainability, alongside roles such as Anti-bullying Ambassadors and Mental Wellbeing Ambassadors. Those are meaningful for students who like responsibility and structured leadership roles, and they can help quieter students find a defined place in the school culture without needing to be naturally extrovert.

There are also examples of practical, skills-based activity. A Year 7 Bikeability update indicates that cycling proficiency opportunities are part of the wider experience, which can be particularly appealing for families who value independence and safe travel skills.

Academic support sits alongside enrichment rather than in opposition. The academy describes after-school academic support sessions and small-group interventions, and exam guidance explicitly encourages attendance at revision classes during key points in the year. The implication is that students who benefit from structured catch-up can access support without it feeling exceptional or stigmatised.

The compulsory school day runs from 08:20 to 14:50, with enrichment scheduled from 14:50. Families should plan for an early start and an early finish compared with some secondary schools, with the expectation that enrichment may extend the day for students who opt in.

Breakfast provision is free and runs from 08:00 in the Bistro, which can help with punctuality and morning routines.

For food costs beyond breakfast, the academy has published changes to catering prices, stating that a Meal Deal is £2.80 from September 2025. Additional costs, such as uniform, trips, and optional activities, vary by student and year group, so families should ask for a current breakdown.

For travel planning, Wakefield’s main city-centre rail options are Wakefield Westgate and Wakefield Kirkgate, which can be useful reference points when considering commuting patterns and onward bus connections.

• Behaviour consistency. Behaviour and attitudes was graded Requires Improvement at the most recent inspection, with the report describing disruption from a minority of pupils. Families should ask how expectations are applied now, and what has changed since 2022.

• Attendance and lesson time. The inspection highlights that attendance for some pupils was not strong enough at that point, and leaders were working to improve it. If your child is vulnerable to falling behind through absence, ask how attendance follow-up works and what support is offered to catch up.

• SEND support in transition. The report describes variability in SEND support at the time of inspection. If your child needs consistent adaptations, request a detailed conversation about current systems, staffing, and how plans are implemented across subjects.

• Post-16 planning is essential. With education ending at Year 11 on site, families need an early plan for sixth form, college, or apprenticeships, and should treat Year 10 and Year 11 as a runway towards that choice.

Outwood Academy City Fields offers a structured secondary education with a clearly defined school day, free breakfast provision, and a timetable that makes room for enrichment and personal development. Leadership stability and a trust-backed approach are positives, and the latest inspection outcome confirms Good overall with effective safeguarding.

Best suited to students who benefit from routine, clear expectations, and planned support, including those who will make the most of leadership pathways such as Student Voice, Honours, and ambassador roles. The key decision point for many families will be confidence in how behaviour is managed day-to-day, and how reliably that protects learning for every student.