No one can deny that a young person’s secondary school years and the hard-earned qualifications they will achieve there can be important.
Secondary schools will coach teens through their GCSEs and perhaps even their A Levels, laying the groundwork for the rest of their learning journey whilst unlocking opportunities for their lives after school. But the learning curve from primary school to being exam-ready can be a steep one, and a child’s school will need to be able to support and guide them on this journey.
We’ve created a league table ranking state-funded secondary schools from across West Yorkshire’s five council areas using their most recently-available ‘Progress 8’ scores (currently for the 2022/23 academic year, until this year’s figures are finalised and published in December or January). This is a unique figure based on GCSE results and other student achievements that measures this growth, helping the government to determine how quickly a school’s pupils are learning and progressing compared to peers from similar primary schools nationwide. Any score above 0 is positive, but we’ve selected only schools with ‘well above average’ scores - the highest band available.
All schools on the list also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was dropped in September. This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding were all found to either meet or exceed government standards last time the school was inspected.
Here were the 24 schools from across West Yorkshire that met the mark:
1. The Ruth Gorse Academy
At the top of the list is the Ruth Gorse Academy, in Leeds. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, it had an excellent Progress 8 score of 0.92, earning it a coveted spot in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google
2. The Morley Academy
This is a secondary school in Morley, Leeds. It was also formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year it had a great Progress 8 score of 0.83, making it too ‘well above average’. | Google
3. Mount St Mary's Catholic High School
Mount St Mary’s is a Catholic secondary school in Leeds. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, it had a Progress 8 score of 0.81 - again considered ‘well above average’. | Google
4. Moor End Academy
Moor End is a secondary school in Huddersfield. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, it had a Progress 8 score of 0.78 - firmly earning it a spot in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google