[2] It caters mainly for pupils from the Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe and Bolton-on-Dearne areas of Barnsley.

In 2007 the percentage of pupils gaining five A* to C grades rose 18% to 54%,[4] but in 2008 the school was one of eight schools in Barnsley to be told by the government that they were not meeting national targets on the number of pupils gaining five A*–C GCSEs.

[5] In 2008 the school published a book of short stories, Out of the Shadows: An Anthology of Fantasy Stories, which sold in high street stores and was among the top three fantasy books on Amazon, and in 2009 pupils at the school produced a graphic novel called Fools Gold.

[8][9][10] In 2011 the school was one of two in the country to send pupils to a remembrance event in Ypres, Belgium, as part of the Royal British Legion's Poppy Travel scheme.

[12] Previously a community school administered by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, in February 2019 Dearne Advanced Learning Centre converted to academy status, sponsored by Astrea Academy Trust.