The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form
The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form is a non-maintained special school in Brighouse for boys aged 5 to 19. It has 83 pupils and room for 87. About 58 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.
Boothroyd, Brighouse, HD6 3JW01484 710123whsfoundation.org.ukMrs Sue Ackroyd principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 13 September 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
7 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Calderdale | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 0.6 | 8.9 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 49.7 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.21 | -2.06 | – | -2.89 | – | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 8% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 52% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 0% | 20% | 8% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 70% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.00 | 0.27 | 0.25 | 0.12 | 0.04 | 0.00 | 4.33 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 37% | 41% |
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 Calderdale council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 11 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for all schools with enough answers to publish.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific 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 Calderdale with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (39), Autistic spectrum disorder (25), Moderate learning difficulty (15), Specific learning difficulty (3), Multi-sensory impairment (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 83 | 88 | 87 | 78 | 72 | 72 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 58% | 49% | 58% | 62% | 67% | 63% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.4% 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 | 6.6% | 9.5% | 7.0% | 6.5% | 11.1% | 8.2% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.7% | 7.6% | 5.5% | 3.1% | 8.2% | 4.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.0% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 3.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 15.9% | 33.3% | 20.4% | 20.5% | 38.1% | 25.8% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 12 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 83% | 100% | 88% | 90% |
| Education | 83% | 100% | 88% | 90% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 17% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field Lane Primary School | Academy | 430 m | 72 | Good 2023 | 9 | Compare |
| Highbury School | Council | 700 m | 155 | Outstanding 2024 | – | Compare |
| Rastrick High School | Academy | 870 m | 1,774 | Good 2023 | 66 | Compare |
| Carr Green Primary School | Council | 980 m | 340 | Good 2024 | 45 | Compare |
| Longroyde Primary School | Foundation | 0.6 miles | 340 | No overall grade 2024 | 31 | Compare |
| Old Earth Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 461 | Outstanding 2022 | 89 | Compare |
| St Andrew's CofE (VA) Junior School | Church of England | 1.1 miles | 224 | Outstanding 2022 | 88 | Compare |
| Woodhouse Primary School | Council | 1.1 miles | 415 | Good 2021 | 79 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form a good school?
The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in September 2023.
What is The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form outstanding at its last full inspection on 13 September 2023.
How good are The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 0.6, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form have?
83 pupils aged 5 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 87 places, so it is 95% full. It is a boys' school.
What is attendance like at The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form?
Pupils were in school 93.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 16% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form?
100% of the 11 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 100% say their child is happy there. Across England, 84% of parents would recommend their child's school.
Does The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form 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
- Boothroyd, Brighouse, HD6 3JW
- Telephone
- 01484 710123
- Website
- www.whsfoundation.org.uk
- Principal
- Mrs Sue Ackroyd
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 5-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Boys
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Ward
- Rastrick
- Constituency
- Calder Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 107589 · LAESTAB 3817005 · UKPRN 10015753
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.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- 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.