The Department for Education has released its new preliminary 2024/25 key stage 4 performance figures for state-funded secondary schools - meaning the country’s best performing schools of the most recent academic year can now be named. These look a little different than usual this year, too.
Schools have been sorted using their Attainment 8 score - a purely performance-based figure derived from learners’ results in up to eight GCSE subjects - rather than the usual improvement-based Progress 8 score. This couldn’t be calculated due to pandemic disruptions this cohort of learners faced.
To help local parents out, we’ve taken a closer look at the schools across the Dewsbury, Batley, Mirfield and Spenborough area - excluding private and special schools - with the highest and lowest Attainment 8 scores this year. These scores go up to 90 and loosely align with GCSE 9-1 number grades.
But grades aren’t the only way to measure school success, so we’ve also included the outcome of the latest Ofsted inspection for each of the schools. These are soon set to change, but for now, we’ve included the overall grade if a school was inspected before last September, or the individual ratings across the four key inspection categories if they’ve been visited by Ofsted since then.
Here is the ranking for every state-funded school across the Dewsbury area:
1. Heckmondwike Grammar School
At the top of the list is this selective secondary academy in Heckmondwike. It is an extremely high academic performer, with one of the highest Attainment 8 scores in the country at 80.1 – compared to a local average of 46.3, and a national average of 45.9. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. | Jim Fitton
2. The Mirfield Free Grammar
Despite its name, this is a non-selective secondary academy and sixth form in Mirfield. In the 2024/25 school year, it had an Attainment 8 score of 47.7 - compared to a local average of 46.3, and a national average of 45.9. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. | Google
3. Manor Croft Academy
Manor Croft is a secondary academy in Dewsbury. In the 2024/25 school year, it had an Attainment 8 score of 47.6 - compared to a local average of 46.3, and a national average of 45.9. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. | Google
4. Batley Girls' High School
This is a girls’ secondary academy in Batley. In the 2024/25 school year, it had an Attainment 8 score of 46.7 - compared to a local average of 46.3, and a national average of 45.9. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was rated ‘outstanding’ for personal development, and ‘good’ across all other categories. | Google