Astrea Academy Netherwood is an 11-16 non-selective, non-denominational secondary school in Wombwell, Barnsley, set in extensive, modern grounds. We have space for 320 new students in Year 7 each year.
We are part of Astrea Academy Trust, a family of primary and secondary academies in Cambridgeshire and South Yorkshire. Astrea Academy Trust aims to make sure that children learn, thrive and lead successful lives. Being a part of this successful and ambitious trust means that our scholars, and colleagues alike, benefit from a rich partnership of opportunities.
Astrea Academy Netherwood is fully committed to an inclusive, comprehensive curriculum for all. Everything we do here is underpinned by our five core values:
Scholarship – We will be informed by the best of academic and organisational thinking and research, using this where we can and expanding it where possible.
Curiosity – We will ask searching questions, not take things on face value, seek out the best of what is known and engage in appreciative enquiry.
Tenacity – We will deliver on our promises and see things through to completion. We will embody pace, urgency and determination in our focus on improving outcomes for children and on our own performance
Respect – We expect to treat each other with respect, in all forms of communication and interaction, and we expect everyone to embrace and celebrate difference; we also expect respect of the academy and community environment
Responsibility – we accept responsibility and commit to ensuring we do not place barriers in the way of students achieving the very best outcomes they can, irrespective of their back-story; we expect students to also accept responsibility for their actions
After a period of rapid improvement, we were very proud to be rated as a “Good” school following an Ofsted inspection in March 2024. This rating is the result of significant changes in curriculum development, teaching and learning, personal development and behavioural culture.
Fundamental to our values is that students are entitled to a knowledge-rich curriculum and, to achieve this, they must have access to disruption-free learning, and our teachers must be free to do what they do best – teach. To accomplish this, as part of Astrea Academy Trust, we use high-quality research and the experiences of the best schools to develop an ambitious curriculum, strong routines, and a drive to improve life chances and life choices. We believe in traditional approaches to
teaching and we value scholarship. In recognition of this, we refer to our young adults as “scholars” to reflect the commitment that everyone
makes to academic learning. We promote strong family values, manners, decency, hard work and kindness. We are both warm and strict so that scholars know we care about them and will help them succeed within firm boundaries.
Scholars complete two hours of homework a day and are supported to recall this information throughout the curriculum. In Year 7 we dine together as a family at lunchtime, serve each other food and tidy the table at the end of the meal.
If you are interested in coming to see more of what we do, then please contact the school office on 01226 272 000 or send us an email at contact@astreanetherwood.org to arrange a visit. We look forward to meeting you.