More than three thousand young people across Doncaster will shortly be starting at a brand new secondary school, setting out on the journey towards what is likely their first set of major qualifications - their GCSEs.
This year’s A level and GCSE results days have come and gone, and with them, the summer holidays are drawing to an end. Most Doncaster learners will return to the classroom for the new, 2025/25 school year around September 1.
Amongst them will be this large cohort of recent primary school leavers, making the transition to one of about 20 state-funded secondary schools throughout the Doncaster Council area, private and special schools excluded. It can be a tricky transition to navigate, and there will be years of hard work and exams ahead of them - which is why it’s so important that their school community is the right fit for them.
With this in mind, we’re revisiting Doncaster’s best performing state-funded secondary schools based on our own personal ‘gold standard’. The key figure this is based on is each school’s Progress 8 score for the most recently-available exam season (currently 2023/24), an official metric which shows how quickly students are progressing compared to peers from similar primary school starting points to their GCSEs. This data has now been finalised, so it is worth noting that results and placings may differ slightly from earlier reports, based on interim results.
On top of that, we’ve also made sure each school on the list had positive ratings in their latest Ofsted inspections. These inspections are going through some changes at the minute, but we’ve restricted our list to those with a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one. This means their quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded Government standards.
Here were Doncaster’s top 12:
1. The Hayfield School
At the top of the list is the Hayfield School, a secondary academy in Auckley, just east of the city itself. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a fantastic Progress 8 score of 0.63. This earned it a place in the ‘well above average’ band – the highest available. | Google
2. Hall Cross Academy
Next up is Hall Cross, a secondary academy and sixth form in central Doncaster, most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.55. | Google
3. Don Valley Academy
Don Valley is a secondary academy in the northwestern Scawthorpe area. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a Progress 8 score of 0.42 – considered ‘above average’. | Google
4. Hungerhill School
Hungerhill is a secondary academy in Edenthorpe, towards the city’s northeast. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an ‘above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.41. | Google