Find the best secondary schools in North Yorkshire. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas, GCSE results and Progress 8.
North Yorkshire has 41 secondary schools, all in North Yorkshire council's area. Most state schools here offer places by distance from home once children in care and siblings of current pupils have been admitted, so how close you live decides your chances at any school with more applicants than places. Some councils draw a fixed catchment boundary instead, and the distance at which the last place went changes every year. Of the 41, 4 are faith schools that can put children of their faith first, and 3 select by ability through the 11-plus, so distance counts for less there.
Use the distance checker to measure your home's straight-line distance to any North Yorkshire secondary school, and each school's page for its Ofsted report, results and admissions details. Check your distance to a school or try the admissions calculator.
| School | Type | Our rating |
|---|---|---|
| Ermysted's Grammar School | boys, selective, sixth form | 4.5 / 5 |
| Skipton Girls' High School | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.5 / 5 |
| Outwood Academy Easingwold | sixth form | 4.4 / 5 |
| Ripon Grammar School | selective, sixth form | 4.4 / 5 |
| St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy | Roman Catholic/Church of England | 4.1 / 5 |
| St John Fisher Catholic Academy | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 4.1 / 5 |
| Brayton Academy | Mixed | 3.9 / 5 |
| St Aidan's Church of England High School |
There are 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire.
Apply by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. You apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
Yes, 3 secondary schools in North Yorkshire select pupils by ability: Ripon Grammar School, Skipton Girls' High School and Ermysted's Grammar School. Entry is by the 11-plus, usually sat in September of Year 6. You register for the test separately, normally in the summer term of Year 5, and still name the school on your council application by 31 October.
Of the 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire, 23 have a sixth form. Students at a school that stops at 16 apply separately for sixth form, either at another school or at a college.
Of the 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire, 4 have a religious character: 2 Roman Catholic, 1 Church of England and 1 Roman Catholic/Church of England. When a faith school has more applicants than places, it can give priority to children of its faith. Many ask for a supplementary form, sometimes signed by a religious leader, so read the school's admissions policy before you apply.
| Church of England, sixth form |
| 3.9 / 5 |
| Ryedale School | Mixed | 3.9 / 5 |
| Upper Wharfedale School | Mixed | 3.9 / 5 |
| Harrogate Grammar School | sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| Sherburn High School | sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| Lady Lumley's Academy | sixth form | 3.8 / 5 |
| Stokesley School | sixth form | 3.8 / 5 |
| Bedale High School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 |
| South Craven School | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| Scalby Academy | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 |
| The Skipton Academy | Mixed | 3.5 / 5 |
| Rossett School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Outwood Academy Ripon | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Norton School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Tadcaster Grammar School | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| King James's School | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| Settle College | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| Richmond School & Sixth Form College | sixth form | 3.3 / 5 |
| Wensleydale School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Boroughbridge High School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Thirsk School & Sixth Form College | sixth form | 3.2 / 5 |
| Nidderdale High School | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| Barlby High School | Mixed | 3.0 / 5 |
| Malton School | sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| St Augustine's Catholic School - a Catholic voluntary academy | Roman Catholic | 3.0 / 5 |
| George Pindar School | Mixed | 2.9 / 5 |
| Harrogate High School | Mixed | 2.9 / 5 |
| Filey Academy | Mixed | 2.8 / 5 |
| Northallerton School & Sixth Form College | sixth form | 2.8 / 5 |
| Graham School | Mixed | 2.8 / 5 |
| Scarborough University Technical College | sixth form | 2.7 / 5 |
| Risedale School | Mixed | 2.2 / 5 |
| Whitby School | sixth form | 2.0 / 5 |
Our rating is out of 5 and combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and published results. Source: Department for Education (GIAS) and Ofsted.
Yes, North Yorkshire has 1 girls' school and 1 boys' school. The other 39 are mixed. Some single-sex schools take both boys and girls into the sixth form.
On our star rating, the highest rated are Ermysted's Grammar School (4.5), Skipton Girls' High School (4.5), Outwood Academy Easingwold (4.4), Ripon Grammar School (4.4) and St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy (4.1). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and GCSE results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. All 41 schools here have a rating.
Only when you qualify for more than one school. Each school ranks applicants against its own admission criteria without knowing where you placed it. If you qualify for several, the council offers the one you ranked highest, so putting a popular school first does not lower your chances at your second choice.
No. Distance only matters when a school has more applicants than places, and then it offers places in the order its admission criteria set out. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or catchment area. Faith schools and grammar schools use different criteria. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
The council offers a place at another school with room, which may be further from home. You can accept it and still join the waiting lists for the schools you preferred. Waiting lists are ranked by the admission criteria, not by how long a child has been on them. You can also appeal to an independent panel for any school that refused you.