High Park School
High Park School is a sponsored special academy in Bradford for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 135 pupils, 35 more than it has places for. About 48 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2020.
Thorn Lane, Heaton, Bradford, BD9 6RY01274 614092highpark.org.ukMrs Bridie Dorning headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 28 January 2020, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 24 April 2025 said: “Standards maintained”.
This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 24 April 2025 | Ungraded | Standards maintained |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
12 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
5 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017† | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 61% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -2.8 | – | -3.1 | – | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -3.0 | – | -2.7 | – | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
† These results are for High Park School, the school this one replaced in April 2017. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Bradford council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Bradford with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (95), language and communications needs (28), Severe learning difficulty (6), emotional and mental health (4), Other difficulty or disability (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 135 | 120 | 117 | 117 | 117 | 116 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 46% | 44% | 39% | 40% | 39% | 40% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 29% | 24% | 29% | 31% | 26% | 28% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.8% | 11.6% | 10.6% | 10.1% | 11.4% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.0% | 9.0% | 9.3% | 9.8% | 9.4% | 5.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.8% | 2.6% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 2.0% | 0.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 25.5% | 31.5% | 32.6% | 31.6% | 35.2% | 15.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 11 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2018/19 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 91% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 9% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chellow Heights Special School | Council | 160 m | 269 | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| Beckfoot Heaton Primary | Academy | 230 m | 752 | Good 2019 | 73 | Compare |
| Beckfoot Upper Heaton | Academy | 260 m | 679 | Good 2023 | 15 | Compare |
| Belle Vue Girls' Academy | Academy | 470 m | 910 | Report card 2025 | 53 | Compare |
| St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | 1,800 | Report card 2026 | 33 | Compare |
| Heaton St Barnabas' CofE Aided Primary School | Church of England | 0.8 miles | 382 | Good 2023 | 44 | Compare |
| Cottingley Village Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 448 | Good 2023 | 60 | Compare |
| Margaret McMillan Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 553 | No overall grade 2025 | 38 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is High Park School a good school?
High Park School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in January 2020.
What is High Park School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated High Park School good at its last full inspection on 28 January 2020. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How many pupils does High Park School have?
135 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 100 places, so it is 135% full.
What is attendance like at High Park School?
Pupils were in school 92.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 26% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does High Park School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does High Park School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Thorn Lane, Heaton, Bradford, BD9 6RY
- Telephone
- 01274 614092
- Website
- www.highpark.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Bridie Dorning
- Type of school
- Sponsored special academy (Academy special sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Carlton Academy Trust (8 schools)
- Local authority
- Bradford
- Ward
- Heaton
- Constituency
- Bradford West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 2017 (new provision)
- URN
- 143533 · LAESTAB 3807004 · UKPRN 10061614
- Formerly
- High Park School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.