Ilkley Grammar School

General Information

Address: Cowpasture Road, Ilkley, LS29 8TR
Phone: 01943608424
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Carly Purnell
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Number of pupils: 2219
School capacity: 1972
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 120
% eligible for free school meals: 7.6%
Nursery provision: No

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 18.5%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 124 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 81 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 61 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 36 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 16 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 53 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

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Would recommend –

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Educational Attainment

Outstanding 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 56.5
Data year: 2024/25

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

Ranked #1 of 32 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#1Ilkley Grammar School56.5
#2Feversham Girls' Secondary Academy54.8
#3Beckfoot School53.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1Ilkley Grammar School56.5
#2Feversham Girls' Secondary Academy54.8
#3Beckfoot School53.0
#4Dixons Kings Academy52.7
#5Dixons Trinity Academy51.4
#6Dixons City Academy49.5
#7Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Bradford49.1
#8Bronte Girls' Academy48.9
#9Dixons McMillan Academy47.3
#10Dixons Cottingley Academy46.7
#11Bingley Grammar School46.5
#12Bradford Girls' Grammar School44.8
#13St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy44.5
#14Carlton Bolling44.4
#15Trinity Academy Bradford43.9
#16Belle Vue Girls' Academy43.2
#17Immanuel College41.9
#18Titus Salt School40.9
#19Beckfoot Thornton40.2
#20Valley Academy38.7
#21Carlton Keighley38.6
#22Beckfoot Upper Heaton37.3
#23Parkside School36.7
#24Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy36.6
#25Laisterdyke Leadership Academy36.1
#26Beckfoot Oakbank35.3
#27Hanson Academy35.1
#28Bradford Forster Academy32.7
#29Oasis Academy Lister Park31.6
#30Co-op Academy Grange29.1
#31The Holy Family Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy28.8
#32Tong Leadership Academy26.4

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 97.0%
Went into further education: 90.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
Business Studies
History
Geography
Spanish
French Language
Sports Studies
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
Art & Design
D & T
Food Technology
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
Religious Studies
Photography
Media Studies
Speech & Drama
Russian
German

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Ranked #5 of 22 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#3Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, BradfordOutstanding
#4Feversham Girls' Secondary AcademyOutstanding
#5Ilkley Grammar SchoolOutstanding
#6Beckfoot ThorntonGood
#7Beckfoot Upper HeatonGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

#1Carlton BollingOutstanding
#2Dixons Kings AcademyOutstanding
#3Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, BradfordOutstanding
#4Feversham Girls' Secondary AcademyOutstanding
#5Ilkley Grammar SchoolOutstanding
#6Beckfoot ThorntonGood
#7Beckfoot Upper HeatonGood
#8Belle Vue Girls' AcademyGood
#9Bingley Grammar SchoolGood
#10Bronte Girls' AcademyGood
#11Carlton KeighleyGood
#12Dixons Cottingley AcademyGood
#13Dixons McMillan AcademyGood
#14Immanuel CollegeGood
#15Laisterdyke Leadership AcademyGood
#16Oasis Academy Lister ParkGood
#17St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyGood
#18Titus Salt SchoolGood
#19Tong Leadership AcademyGood
#20Trinity Academy BradfordGood
#21Valley AcademyRequires improvement
#22Parkside SchoolInadequate

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £7,182 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

Ranked #29 of 33 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#27Trinity Academy Bradford£7,300
#28Dixons Trinity Academy£7,220
#29Ilkley Grammar School£7,182
#30Bingley Grammar School£7,023
#31Dixons McMillan Academy£6,925

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

#1Carlton Keighley£10,316
#2The Holy Family Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy£10,145
#3Tong Leadership Academy£9,949
#4Co-op Academy Grange£9,851
#5Titus Salt School£9,691
#6Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy£9,397
#7Bradford Forster Academy£8,866
#8Valley Academy£8,684
#9Belle Vue Girls' Academy£8,545
#10Hanson Academy£8,453
#11Beckfoot Upper Heaton£8,375
#12Beckfoot Oakbank£8,037
#13Carlton Bolling£7,917
#14Oasis Academy Lister Park£7,870
#15Parkside School£7,846
#16St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy£7,826
#17Beckfoot Thornton£7,779
#18Laisterdyke Leadership Academy£7,777
#19Dixons Kings Academy£7,749
#20Beckfoot School£7,686
#21Bradford Girls' Grammar School£7,604
#22Immanuel College£7,578
#23Dixons Cottingley Academy£7,516
#24Dixons City Academy£7,493
#25Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Bradford£7,467
#26Feversham Girls' Secondary Academy£7,312
#27Trinity Academy Bradford£7,300
#28Dixons Trinity Academy£7,220
#29Ilkley Grammar School£7,182
#30Bingley Grammar School£7,023
#31Dixons McMillan Academy£6,925
#32Bronte Girls' Academy£6,794
#33Dixons Sixth Form, Bradford£6,275

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

General Information

Behaviour

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered