THE best performing 2024 Yorkshire schools 

CLICK HERE to compare Yorkshire school performance.

We also advise how to get your child into your nearest high performing Yorkshire schools.

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Best Yorkshire grammar schools

Regional rank / school / national rank

1. Ripon Grammar School (65=)
2. Heckmondwike Grammar School (77)
3. St Mary’s College, Hull (92)
4. Archbishop Holgate’s School, York (188)
5. Fulford School, York (189)
6. High Storrs School, Sheffield (201)
7. Silverdale School, Sheffield (218=)
8. St Mary’s Menston (222)
9. Ilkley Grammar School (242)
10. Tapton School, Sheffield (244)

Best Yorkshire comprehensive schools

1. St Mary’s College, Hull (92)
2. Archbishop Holgate’s School, York (188)
3. Fulford School, York (189)
4. Silverdale School, Sheffield (218=)
5. St Mary’s Menston (222)

Best Yorkshire private schools

1. Queen Ethelburga’s College, York (17)
2. Sheffield High School for Girls (83)
3. The Grammar School at Leeds (106)
4. Bradford Grammar School (110)
5. St Peter’s School, York (114=)
6. The Mount School York (183)
7. The Faculty of Queen Ethelburga’s, York (192)
8. Birkdale School, Sheffield (208)
9. Harrogate Ladies’ College (212)
10. Hill House School (219)

How to get my child into a top Yorkshire secondary school?

Getting your child into the best north-eastern school for them is all about:

• Researching which are the highest rated schools in your local area.

• Planning alternatives in advance – since there is of course no guarantee of your first choice working out.

• Realistically assessing your current financial situation.

Looking for your best local schools?

Top Yorkshire state secondary schools

1 Ripon Grammar School
2 Skipton Girls’ High School
3 Ermysted’s Grammar School, Skipton
4 Fulford School, York
5 The Crossley Heath School, Halifax
6 Silverdale School, Sheffield
7 Ilkley Grammar School
8 The North Halifax Grammar School
9 Tapton School, Sheffield
10 Heckmondwike Grammar School
11 Archbishop Holgate’s School, York
12 All Saints RC School, York
13 Tadcaster Grammar School
14 Beverley High School
15 St Aidan’s C of E High School, Harrogate
16 Huntington School, York
17 Harrogate Grammar School
18 Prince Henry’s Grammar School, Otley
19 Stokesley School
20 St Mary’s Menston

The top independent secondary schools in the north of England

1 Queen Ethelburga’s College, nr York
2 St Peter’s School, York
3 Bradford Grammar School
4 The Grammar School at Leeds
5 Sheffield High School GDST
6 Wakefield Girls’ High School
7 Hymers College, Hull
8 Queen Margaret’s School, York
9 Ampleforth College, nr York
10 Birkdale School, Sheffield
11 Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
12 Harrogate Ladies’ College
13 Pocklington School, Beverley
14 Hill House School, Doncaster
15 Scarborough College
16 Ashville College, Harrogate
17 Ackworth School, Pontefract
18 Woodhouse Grove School, Apperley Bridge
19 Silcoates School, Wakefield

Top Yorkshire primary schools 2022

Top Yorkshire secondary schools 2021

Competition in education is fierce in Yorkshire with a three-way tussle for supremacy between the independent, grammar and comprehensive sectors. Some of the best schools in the country are to be found here — underlined by the award of three Schools of the Decade in the four counties of Yorkshire.

The Grammar School at Leeds, last year’s winner of our North Independent Secondary School of the Year award, goes one better this year to become our regional Independent Secondary School of the Decade.

Although the region has six selective grammar schools, it is the northern comprehensives that carry off the prizes in our School of the Decade awards. Fulford School in York, one of the region’s educational hotspots, is named the UK Comprehensive School of the Decade, while Silverdale School, in Sheffield, is North State Secondary School of the Decade.

• Consistently excellent results (about 80% of A-level grades at A*-B, and 70% A*/A or 9-7 grades at GCSE).
• All students at GSAL, from nursery to sixth form, came together on one campus for the first time in September with the opening of a new primary school.

York has perhaps the best education provision in the north of England. Fulford has industrious pupils, inspirational teachers and supportive parents in a winning combination. About 80% of school leavers go to university — 25 of them to Oxbridge in the past five years — and a growing number opt for apprenticeships.

Fulford Minds

Sport is a big part of school life and students represent their school, county and country. Fulford nurtures a strong social conscience in its students, who also show a keen awareness of mental health issues in young people through a support group, Fulford Minds. The school is the second-highest ranked non-faith comprehensive in the UK and had the best A-level results of any Yorkshire state school in 2019.

Nearby, Archbishop Holgate’s School offers strong competition in the state sector, while St Peter’s School, alma mater to Guy Fawkes and our 2018 North Independent Secondary School of the Year, is the top-ranked independent school in the city. The high-performing Queen Ethelburga’s College and the Faculty of Queen Ethelburga’s lie beyond the city limits at Thorpe Underwood.

Silverdale School gained the best A-level results in Sheffield in 2019 and the steady rise in its results over the past 10 years helps it to land our North State Secondary School of the Decade award. The school ranks in the top 5% nationally for progress at A-level and is rated outstanding by Ofsted.

Looking for the top Yorkshire schools?

Top Yorkshire schools

1. Ripon Grammar Schoo
2. Skipton Girls’ High School
3. Ermysted’s Grammar School, Skipton
4. Fulford School, York
5. Archbishop Holgate’s School, York
6. Silverdale School, Sheffield
7. Heckmondwike Grammar School
8. Beverley High School
9. Tapton School, Sheffield
10. The Crossley Heath School, Halifax
11. The North Halifax Grammar School
12. Ilkley Grammar School
13. All Saints RC School, York
14. Outwood Academy, Easingwold, nr York
15. High Storrs School, Sheffield
16. St Aidan’s C of E High School, Harrogate
17. Huntington School, York
18. Prince Henry’s Grammar School, Otley
19. Harrogate Grammar School
20. Notre Dame High School, Sheffield

Top independent Yorkshire schools 2021

1. Queen Ethelburga’s College, nr York
2. St Peter’s School, York
3. The Grammar School at Leeds
4. The Faculty of Queen Ethelburga’s, nr York
5. Bradford Grammar School
6. Sheffield High School for Girls
7. Wakefield Girls’ High School
8. Queen Margaret’s School, York
9. Hymers College, Hull
10. Ampleforth College, nr York
11. Birkdale School, Sheffield
12. Harrogate Ladies’ College
13. Hill House School, Doncaster
14. Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
15. The Mount School, York
16. Ashville College, Harrogate
17. Pocklington School, Beverley
18. Scarborough College
19. Woodhouse Grove School, Apperley Bridge
20. Ackworth School, Pontefract

Looking for the top Yorkshire schools 2024?

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We hope this has helped you to identify the best secondary schools in Yorkshire.