Vale of York Academy
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Vale of York Academy is a sponsored academy in York for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 656 pupils and room for 905. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 42 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 54% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2019.
Rawcliffe Drive, Clifton Without, York, YO30 6ZS01904 560000voy.hlt.academyMr Alexis Green-Harding headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 13 November 2019, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 5 February 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 5 February 2025 | Ungraded | Standards maintained |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
142 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 | York | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 142 | 143 | 108 | 109 | 100 | 88 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 45.3 | 43.7 | 41.7 | 45.5 | 44.5 | 39.8 | 50.6 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.06 | -0.10 | -0.04 | -0.25 | -0.37 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 51% | 48% | 42% | 52% | 41% | 25% | 56% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 70% | 61% | 64% | 74% | 66% | 53% | 74% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.84 | 3.98 | 3.69 | 4.03 | 3.87 | 3.50 | 4.51 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 20% | 41% | 33% | 44% | 34% | 39% | 41% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 26.7 | 33.4 | 32.8 | 34.1 | 38.7 | 29.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 50.1 | 46.3 | 44.3 | 50.7 | 47.0 | 44.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 27.3 | 26.5 | 28.3 | 24.7 | 23.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 67.4 | 68.3 | 72.5 | 52.8 | 60.4 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 18 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Chemistry (58% here, 81% across England), Business (30% here, 51% across England), History (34% here, 52% across England), Social Studies (37% here, 54% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 142 | 18% | 56% | 73% | 53% | 1,179 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 142 | 25% | 66% | 80% | 54% | 613 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 141 | 6% | 47% | 67% | 58% | 2,271 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 96 | 8% | 28% | 51% | 36% | 2,012 of 3,084 |
| History | 80 | 11% | 34% | 49% | 52% | 2,611 of 3,126 |
| Business | 78 | 4% | 30% | 54% | 51% | 1,501 of 1,806 |
| Biology | 45 | 20% | 69% | 96% | 82% | 2,028 of 2,570 |
| Chemistry | 45 | 20% | 58% | 89% | 81% | 2,226 of 2,537 |
| Physics | 45 | 22% | 69% | 91% | 82% | 1,988 of 2,546 |
| Geography | 42 | 17% | 48% | 62% | 51% | 1,566 of 3,116 |
| Art and Design | 40 | 20% | 53% | 78% | 58% | 1,716 of 2,818 |
| Social Studies | 38 | 11% | 37% | 50% | 54% | 845 of 1,043 |
| Physical Education | 30 | 17% | 53% | 67% | 56% | 858 of 1,559 |
| French | 26 | 15% | 69% | 81% | 60% | 746 of 1,974 |
| Drama | 26 | 23% | 62% | 81% | 60% | 449 of 844 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 23 | 22% | 57% | 74% | 52% | 458 of 1,098 |
| Computer Science | 21 | 29% | 43% | 52% | 56% | 1,273 of 1,861 |
| Music | 11 | 27% | 46% | 46% | 61% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
York council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 8.1 square kilometres. Living inside it moves your child up the queue when there are more applicants than places. It doesn't guarantee a place: the council's admissions rules decide the order.
Set your home postcode at the top of the page to see whether you live inside it.
284 places were empty (29% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 6% since 2021/22.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (127 offers for 150 places).
| Entry | Places | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 150 | 127 | – all offered | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 150 | 147 | – all offered | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 150 | 150 | – | LA |
What a home inside the catchment costs
Every home sold inside the council's catchment area, of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (20), Moderate learning difficulty (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), Specific learning difficulty (2), language and communications needs (2), Physical disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 656 | 701 | 714 | 684 | 653 | 623 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 24% | 24% | 24% | 24% | 23% | 20% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 8% | 8% | 8% | 7% | 8% | 8% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 4% | 8% | 9% | 7% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 87.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 12.2% | 13.2% | 12.2% | 11.8% | 6.0% | 6.7% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.4% | 8.3% | 7.0% | 7.2% | 4.0% | 4.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 4.8% | 5.0% | 5.2% | 4.7% | 2.1% | 2.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 32.8% | 33.0% | 31.0% | 37.6% | 18.3% | 19.9% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 57.2 | 68.5 | 45.3 | 27.3 | 32.1 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 108 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 92%, compared with 93% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 93% | 84% | 90% | 95% |
| Education | 81% | 75% | 80% | 84% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 2% | 6% | 7% |
| Work | 6% | 6% | 4% | 4% |
| Not in education, work or training | 6% | 14% | 5% | 4% |
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 secondary 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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manor Church of England Academy | Academy | 1.5 miles | 1,136 | Report card 2026 | 81 | Compare |
| Huntington School | Council | 1.7 miles | 1,505 | Outstanding 2023 | 67 | Compare |
| All Saints Catholic School York | Academy | 1.7 miles | 1,392 | Outstanding 2024 | 88 | Compare |
| Millthorpe School | Academy | 1.9 miles | 1,022 | Good 2024 | 71 | Compare |
| Joseph Rowntree School | Voluntary | 1.9 miles | 1,248 | Good 2022 | 42 | Compare |
| York High School | Academy | 2.2 miles | 750 | Good 2022 | 15 | Compare |
| Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy | Academy | 2.9 miles | 1,803 | Report card 2026 | 78 | Compare |
| Fulford School | Academy | 3.1 miles | 1,853 | Outstanding 2023 | 87 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Vale of York Academy with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 42 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 42% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 32 to 53. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | in line | -0.06 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 142 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 11% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.01 | Ofsted grade, 6.8 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | in line | -0.04 | DfE progress measure; 142 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.04 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.14 | 2024/25; 735 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well above | +0.13 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 142 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | in line | +0.01 | 108 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Vale of York Academy a good school?
It is about average. Vale of York Academy scores 42 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 54% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 32 to 53, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Vale of York Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Vale of York Academy good at its last full inspection on 13 November 2019. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How good are Vale of York Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 51% 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 45.3, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about level with children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Vale of York Academy have?
656 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 905 places, so it is 72% full.
Is Vale of York Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 284 places were empty in 2024/25 (29% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Vale of York Academy?
Pupils were in school 87.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 33% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Vale of York Academy?
The average class had 23.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 14% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Vale of York Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 93% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Rawcliffe Drive, Clifton Without, York, YO30 6ZS
- Telephone
- 01904 560000
- Website
- voy.hlt.academy
- Headteacher
- Mr Alexis Green-Harding
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Heartwood Learning Trust (14 schools)
- Local authority
- York
- Ward
- Rawcliffe & Clifton Without
- Constituency
- York Outer
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 2017 (new provision)
- URN
- 143864 · LAESTAB 8164000 · UKPRN 10062285
- Formerly
- Vale of York Academy
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.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: York council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Catchment area: York council open data (Open Government Licence), reprojected to WGS84.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- 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.