From York to Sheffield, Bradford to Hull, Yorkshire is a big region, home to near-countless great secondary school choices. But some of these shone a little brighter than others in the last school year.
The government’s brand new preliminary performance figures for state-funded secondary schools were released last week, with primary school and sixth form data expected to follow shortly. We’ve created a league table ranking Yorkshire’s highest-performing state secondary schools for the 2023/24 school year based on this data - using their latest Progress 8 scores.
This is a unique figure based on GCSE results and other student achievements, which helps to determine how quickly students at any particular school are learning and progressing compared to peers arriving from similar primary schools nationwide.
Any score above 0 is positive, while any above 0.5 is considered ‘well above average’ - the highest band available.All schools on the list also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was recently dropped, or, if they’ve been inspected more recently, had passing marks across the board. This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding all met or exceeded government standards last time the school was inspected.
Here are the 19 schools from across Yorkshire that topped the chart:
9. Holmfirth High School
Holmfirth High School is a council-run secondary school in Kirklees. It was rated ‘outstanding’ in all categories in its most recent Ofsted inspection. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a fantastic Progress 8 score of 0.73 - placing it firmly in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google
10. Cockburn School
Cockburn is a secondary academy in the Beeston area of Leeds. Ofsted inspectors found it to be ‘outstanding’ in all areas in its most recent inspection. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a Progress 8 score of 0.72 - in the ‘well above average’ band. | Jonathan Gawthorpe/National World
11. Dixons Trinity Academy
Dixons Trinity is a secondary academy in Bradford, one of a number of high-performing schools in Yorkshire run by the Dixons Academies Trust. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a Progress 8 score of 0.72 - in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google
12. Ripon Grammar School
Ripon Grammar is a selective secondary school in Ripon, North Yorkshire, and is one of the few state schools in the country to offer boarding for its pupils. It was rated ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ in all categories at its last Ofsted inspection. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a Progress 8 score of 0.72 - in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google