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State secondary schools in Barnsley

11 schools · Yorkshire and the Humber · 2024/25 Department for Education figures

Barnsley has 11 state secondaries, 1 of them with sixth forms. 91% of families got their first choice last year, better than most of England. Results run from 19.7% to 65% passing English and maths, a spread of 45 points, with a middle school at 44.9%, almost exactly England's 45.4%.

Of those Ofsted has graded, 1 rated Outstanding, 8 Good. 2 schools carry no overall grade at all — either inspected since Ofsted stopped issuing one in September 2024, or never inspected.

11 schools in Barnsley. Tap one, or see the full list.
20% 65% passed English & maths no figure

Barnsley against England

State-funded schools, 2024/25

45%

Passed English & maths grade 5 or above

in line with England

England 45%

44

Attainment 8 average score

2.1 below England

England 46.1

25%

Persistently absent missed 10% of sessions

3.1% above England

England 21%

Getting a place

2026/27 secondary admissions round, across Barnsley

91%

Got their first choiceof those who applied

England 84%

98.2%

Got one of their threefirst, second or third

0%

Got no offer at allfrom any preference

28%

Appeals upheld22 of 78 heard

These are figures for Barnsley as a whole. A popular school can be much harder to get into than the average suggests, and the criteria that decide it are set by each school's own admission authority rather than centrally. How applying works

How much the choice matters here

Across Barnsley's 10 schools, the share passing English and maths runs from 20% to 65%. That is a spread of 45 percentage points, about typical.

The typical council spans about 48 points. Where schools are close together the school a child gets matters less; where they are far apart it matters a great deal. The widest spreads are all selective areas, where grammar schools sit at one end and everything else at the other.

Barnsley schools, subject by subject

The share reaching grade 4 or above, among schools entering at least 20 pupils. Which pupils take a subject differs a lot between schools, so read this as what happened rather than as a ranking of teaching.

mathshistorygeographyenglish literatureenglish languagecombined sciencespanishphysicschemistrybiologyartphotographyfrenchbusiness studies
  1. 1 Outwood Academy Shafton Barnsley · 112 entries 87%
  2. 2 Astrea Academy Dearne Rotherham · 45 entries 84%
  3. 3 Horizon Community College Barnsley · 87 entries 84%
  4. 4 Outwood Academy Carlton Barnsley · 51 entries 80%
  5. 5 Penistone Grammar School Sheffield · 48 entries 77%
  6. 6 Kirk Balk Academy Barnsley · 35 entries 74%
  7. 7 Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England School Barnsley · 22 entries 64%
  8. 8 Darton Academy Barnsley · 67 entries 51%
  9. 9 Netherwood Academy Barnsley · 25 entries 44%
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Every school in Barnsley

Schools in neighbouring authorities are not in this list, because admissions run per authority. See bordering areas.

3 of 11 have no spare places. Sort the list, or narrow it first.

Pick up to 4 schools to see them side by side in the comparison tool, subject by subject.

Sixth form · Key stage 5·2024/25

A levels in Barnsley

1 of Barnsley's 1 sixth forms publish A level results. Ranked on the share reaching AAB or better in at least two of the subjects universities name, which is the measure the steepest entry requirements are written in.

Sixth form Grade AAB+

A level results only. A sixth form running mostly BTECs and other applied courses will show a dash here and can still be the right one — those are graded on their own scale, where a distinction and an A grade carry the same points and mean different things.

Bordering Barnsley

Near a boundary, schools on both sides are usually in reach. Whether a child can apply is set by each school's admission criteria, not by the border.

Derbyshire 45 schools · 43% passed English & mathsDoncaster 20 schools · 44% passed English & mathsKirklees 25 schools · 47% passed English & mathsRotherham 16 schools · 39% passed English & mathsSheffield 29 schools · 42% passed English & mathsWakefield 18 schools · 46% passed English & maths

What these mean

Attainment 8
The average pupil's total score across eight GCSE-equivalent subjects, with English and maths counting double. It is scored out of 90. A score of 50 is roughly equivalent to achieving a grade 5 across eight subjects.
Grades 4 and 5
GCSEs are graded from 9 down to 1. Grade 4 is a standard pass and broadly corresponds to the old grade C; grade 5 is what the government calls a strong pass. Grade 7 is broadly equivalent to an old grade A.
Persistent absence
The share of pupils who miss at least 10% of their possible sessions during the school year. This includes both authorised and unauthorised absence, so illness and other authorised reasons are included. Persistent absence has remained substantially higher than its pre-pandemic level.
First preference
The share of families who were offered the school they ranked first on their application, on national offer day in March. This figure is calculated across the relevant schools or admissions authority, so a high overall figure does not necessarily mean that every individual school is easy to get into.
Spare places
The amount of available capacity a school has compared with the number of pupils on roll. This is different from oversubscription: spare places measure whether a school has capacity, whereas oversubscription describes demand for places exceeding the number available. A school with no spare places may be popular, but a small school can also be full without receiving a large number of applications.
Average A-level grade
The average grade achieved across students' A-level entries. This is different from measures such as the proportion achieving AAB or better in two or more facilitating subjects, which are sometimes used to indicate higher attainment and university-entry performance.
Covers state-funded schools in England; independent schools are not included, and neither the list nor the subject figures above take account of them.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Key stage 4 performance and school characteristics: Department for Education, 2024/25. Inspection outcomes: Ofsted.