York High School
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York High School is a sponsored academy in York for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 750 pupils and room for 991. About 40 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 15 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 38% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.
Cornlands Road, York, YO24 3WZ01904 806600yorkhighschool.co.ukMr Gavin Kumar headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 27 September 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
132 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 | 132 | 146 | 148 | 146 | 122 | 155 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 41.2 | 35.2 | 36.7 | 39.6 | 40.3 | 33.9 | 50.6 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.75 | -0.54 | -0.47 | -0.27 | -0.93 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 42% | 27% | 28% | 34% | 31% | 23% | 56% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 61% | 45% | 47% | 55% | 60% | 42% | 74% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.65 | 3.17 | 3.04 | 3.22 | 3.54 | 2.97 | 4.51 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 38% | 35% | 11% | 6% | 26% | 23% | 41% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 30.5 | 26.6 | 26.6 | 32.6 | 38.6 | 29.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 47.7 | 39.5 | 40.8 | 43.2 | 40.8 | 35.5 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 21.3 | 21.9 | 24.0 | 22.2 | 15.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 51.0 | 56.8 | 65.2 | 54.6 | 49.0 | – | – |
† These results are for York High School, the school this one replaced in May 2018. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Subjects
Results came out for 16 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: Statistics (6% here, 51% across England), Combined Science (19% here, 36% across England), Drama (50% here, 60% across England), Computer Science (47% here, 56% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 130 | 16% | 55% | 71% | 54% | 1,331 of 3,210 |
| Mathematics | 129 | 16% | 47% | 70% | 53% | 1,900 of 3,211 |
| English Literature | 122 | 11% | 56% | 69% | 58% | 1,590 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 93 | 0% | 19% | 47% | 36% | 2,655 of 3,084 |
| History | 81 | 27% | 59% | 74% | 52% | 961 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 70 | 23% | 43% | 57% | 51% | 1,896 of 3,116 |
| Statistics | 51 | 0% | 6% | 29% | 51% | 368 of 375 |
| French | 49 | 16% | 53% | 71% | 60% | 1,290 of 1,974 |
| Biology | 29 | 35% | 86% | 93% | 82% | 1,346 of 2,570 |
| Physics | 28 | 50% | 93% | 96% | 82% | 933 of 2,546 |
| Chemistry | 27 | 37% | 96% | 100% | 81% | 701 of 2,537 |
| Religious Studies | 19 | 32% | 68% | 79% | 60% | – |
| Drama | 16 | 25% | 50% | 69% | 60% | – |
| Computer Science | 15 | 13% | 47% | 60% | 56% | – |
| Art and Design | 14 | 0% | 43% | 57% | 58% | – |
| Music | 8 | 38% | 38% | 38% | 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 6.5 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.
237 places were empty (24% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 4% 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 (131 offers for 150 places).
| Entry | Places | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 150 | 131 | – all offered | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 150 | 150 | – | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 150 | 150 | 1.7 miles | 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 (80), Autistic spectrum disorder (44), Specific learning difficulty (22), Moderate learning difficulty (19), language and communications needs (13), Other difficulty or disability (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 750 | 748 | 741 | 720 | 724 | 737 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 40% | 39% | 34% | 33% | 30% | 26% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 6% | 7% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 17% | 14% | 14% | 13% | 13% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 84.7% 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 | 15.3% | 15.9% | 15.8% | 14.9% | 9.2% | 9.2% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.1% | 5.4% | 4.6% | 6.7% | 5.8% | 5.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 9.3% | 10.6% | 11.2% | 8.3% | 3.4% | 4.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 39.0% | 41.4% | 43.7% | 44.6% | 29.2% | 25.4% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 106.4 | 122.1 | 159.3 | 94.9 | 44.4 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 148 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 74%, compared with 84% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 81% | 84% | 90% | 93% |
| Education | 66% | 62% | 78% | 84% |
| Apprenticeship | 8% | 10% | 6% | 6% |
| Work | 7% | 13% | 6% | 3% |
| Not in education, work or training | 16% | 11% | 7% | 7% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Saints Catholic School York | Academy | 1.4 miles | 1,392 | Outstanding 2024 | 88 | Compare |
| Millthorpe School | Academy | 1.6 miles | 1,022 | Good 2024 | 71 | Compare |
| Manor Church of England Academy | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,136 | Report card 2026 | 81 | Compare |
| Vale of York Academy | Academy | 2.2 miles | 656 | Good 2019 | 42 | Compare |
| Fulford School | Academy | 2.7 miles | 1,853 | Outstanding 2023 | 87 | Compare |
| Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy | Academy | 3.6 miles | 1,803 | Report card 2026 | 78 | Compare |
| Huntington School | Council | 3.9 miles | 1,505 | Outstanding 2023 | 67 | Compare |
| Joseph Rowntree School | Voluntary | 4.2 miles | 1,248 | Good 2022 | 42 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares York High School 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 15 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 15% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 11 to 20. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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% | below | -0.18 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 132 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 4.0 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | well below | -0.28 | DfE progress measure; 132 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | +0.02 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.25 | 2024/25; 789 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | above | +0.06 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 132 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | well below | -0.09 | 148 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 York High School a good school?
The figures are weak. York High School scores 15 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 38% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 11 to 20, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is York High School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated York High School good at its last full inspection on 27 September 2022.
How good are York High School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 42% 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 41.2, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does York High School have?
750 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 991 places, so it is 76% full.
Is York High School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 237 places were empty in 2024/25 (24% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at York High School?
Pupils were in school 84.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 39% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at York High School?
The average class had 25.1 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 10% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does York High School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 81% 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
- Cornlands Road, York, YO24 3WZ
- Telephone
- 01904 806600
- Website
- www.yorkhighschool.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Gavin Kumar
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Excel Learning Trust (6 schools)
- Local authority
- York
- Ward
- Westfield
- Constituency
- York Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 May 2018 (new provision)
- URN
- 144652 · LAESTAB 8164001 · UKPRN 10065516
- Formerly
- York High 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.
- 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.