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:
1. Mercia School
Mercia School is a secondary academy in Sheffield, also known for having incredibly high standards and rules for pupil behaviour. It was rated ‘outstanding’ in all areas in its most recent Ofsted inspection. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an exceptional Progress 8 score of 2.09 - ‘well above average’. It placed second in the Government’s 2024 league table for secondary schools in England. | National World
2. St Francis Xavier School
St Francis Xavier School is a joint Catholic and Church of England secondary academy in Richmond, North Yorkshire. It was rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in all areas in its last Ofsted inspection. In the 2023/24 school year, it had another exceptional Progress 8 score of 1.01, placing it near the top of the ‘well above average’ band. | Google
3. The Ruth Gorse Academy
The Ruth Gorse Academy is a Leeds secondary school run by the GORSE Academies Trust. In its most recent Ofsted report, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all areas of inspection. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an outstanding Progress 8 score of 0.99 - placing it near the top of the ‘well above average’ band. | Bruce Rollinson/National World
4. Heckmondwike Grammar School
Heckmondwike Grammar is a selective secondary academy in Kirklees, recently named the best state secondary school in the north of England by The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2025. It was rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in all areas except its sixth form provision in its last inspection. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a fantastic Progress 8 score of 0.97 - in the ‘well above average’ band. | National World