Wensleydale School

North Yorkshire · DL8 5HY

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 407 pupils, 17% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 11.3% on SEN support Behaviour 7.9% absence rate Staff 5.5% turnover Financials £8,425 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Wensleydale School

General Information

Address: Richmond Road, Leyburn, DL8 5HY – View on map
Phone: 01969622244
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Julia Polley
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 77 families put it first for 83 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 12 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

407 pupils out of 440 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 69
% eligible for free school meals: 17.0%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the North Yorkshire average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 5.5% a year (North Yorkshire 14%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 23% moved to another school, 77% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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.

Across North Yorkshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 71 (1.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 73 (2.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 24 (0.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in North Yorkshire, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 24.3%
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 for Autism 8 places · 8 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 11.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 9.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 15 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 16 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card May 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Attainment 8 score: 41.5
Compared with the area: 6.1 points below the North Yorkshire average (47.6)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−6.8 points against an expected 48.3)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 57% (North Yorkshire 69%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolNorth Yorkshire averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 6.1 points below the North Yorkshire average (47.6).

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.

33rd of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire for Attainment 8

#31Nidderdale High School41.8
#32The Skipton Academy41.6
#33Wensleydale School41.5
#34Norton School41.0
#35Whitby School39.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Ripon Grammar School70.9
#2Skipton Girls' High School69.7
#3Ermysted's Grammar School67.3
#4Harrogate Grammar School56.6
#5St Aidan's Church of England High School56.4
#6St John Fisher Catholic Academy55.1
#7St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy54.6
#8Brayton Academy53.4
#9Lady Lumley's Academy52.7
#10Outwood Academy Easingwold52.0
#11Ryedale School51.7
#12Sherburn High School51.3
#13Tadcaster Grammar School50.0
#14St Augustine's Catholic School - a Catholic voluntary academy48.9
#15Scalby Academy48.3
#16Upper Wharfedale School48.3
#17South Craven School47.5
#18Malton School46.6
#19Outwood Academy Ripon46.6
#20Bedale High School46.1
#21King James's School46.1
#22Richmond School & Sixth Form College45.6
#23Stokesley School45.3
#24Rossett School44.1
#25Scarborough University Technical College44.0
#26Thirsk School & Sixth Form College43.5
#27Boroughbridge High School43.0
#28Barlby High School42.8
#29Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science42.1
#30Settle College42.1
#31Nidderdale High School41.8
#32The Skipton Academy41.6
#33Wensleydale School41.5
#34Norton School41.0
#35Whitby School39.5
#36Harrogate High School39.1
#37Graham School38.3
#38Northallerton School & Sixth Form College37.5
#39Filey Academy35.7
#40George Pindar School33.4
#41Risedale School29.8

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 96.0%
Went into further education: 72.0%
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 Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Business Studies
Geography
History
Sports Studies
D & T
Computer Science
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Sociology
Art & Design
French Language
Music Studies (General)

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,425 (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.

9th of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire for spending per pupil

#7Harrogate Grammar School£8,583
#8Barlby High School£8,475
#9Wensleydale School£8,425
#10Upper Wharfedale School£8,348
#11Harrogate High School£8,341

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.

Rank School Score

#1Scarborough University Technical College£10,154
#2Scalby Academy£9,598
#3Rossett School£9,289
#4Risedale School£9,206
#5Nidderdale High School£9,003
#6Boroughbridge High School£8,594
#7Harrogate Grammar School£8,583
#8Barlby High School£8,475
#9Wensleydale School£8,425
#10Upper Wharfedale School£8,348
#11Harrogate High School£8,341
#12Settle College£8,275
#13Outwood Academy Ripon£8,243
#14Malton School£8,022
#15Norton School£7,931
#16Northallerton School & Sixth Form College£7,928
#17Filey Academy£7,914
#18Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science£7,884
#19Stokesley School£7,831
#20Lady Lumley's Academy£7,696
#21Outwood Academy Easingwold£7,691
#22Ripon Grammar School£7,685
#23George Pindar School£7,554
#24Graham School£7,515
#25The Skipton Academy£7,509
#26St John Fisher Catholic Academy£7,507
#27King James's School£7,502
#28Ryedale School£7,412
#29St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy£7,394
#30St Augustine's Catholic School - a Catholic voluntary academy£7,393
#31Whitby School£7,359
#32Thirsk School & Sixth Form College£7,274
#33Bedale High School£7,071
#34Skipton Girls' High School£6,959
#35Richmond School & Sixth Form College£6,951
#36Ermysted's Grammar School£6,876
#37St Aidan's Church of England High School£6,759
#38Tadcaster Grammar School£6,602
#39Sherburn High School£6,427
#40Brayton Academy£6,412
#41South Craven School£3,053

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

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across North Yorkshire: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered