Carlton Keighley

University Academy Keighley is performing well, having transitioned from a previous 'Requires Improvement' grade to 'Good' overall. The school demonstrates strong leadership and a commitment to high expectations for all pupils, creating a positive and respectful learning environment. Students display a strong sense of pride in their school, indicating effective changes and improvements implemented by the leadership team over the past year. The school provides a well-structured curriculum, with the majority of pupils achieving good results and enjoying their education, though there remains a need for further improvements in foreign language offerings and attendance among disadvantaged pupils.

Strengths

• Leaders have high expectations for all pupils.
• Pupils display positive attitudes towards learning.
• The curriculum is coherently planned and well sequenced.
• Teachers use assessment effectively to support pupil learning.
• Pupils with SEND receive strong support and can access the curriculum.
• The school has a strong culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Too few pupils are studying a modern foreign language in key stage 4.
• Attendance of disadvantaged pupils is below average.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Carlton Keighley attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 10.3% of pupils at Carlton Keighley were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Carlton Keighley had 13.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.8% of pupils at Carlton Keighley were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Carlton Keighley received £11,262 and spent £11,018 for each of its 795 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £5,433,000 (£6,833 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Carlton Academy Trust, income was £10,469 and spending £10,312 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Keighley · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Carlton Keighley is part of Carlton Academy Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Beechcliffe Special School Keighley
• High Park School Bradford
• Carlton Mills Bradford
• Thorpe Primary Bradford
• Carlton Bolling Bradford
• Marshfield Primary Bradford
• Oulton Academy Leeds

What is Carlton Keighley's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Carlton Keighley is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Carlton Keighley last inspected by Ofsted?

Carlton Keighley was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Carlton Keighley have?

Carlton Keighley has 809 pupils on roll.

What age range does Carlton Keighley cover?

Carlton Keighley for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Carlton Keighley's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.4, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Carlton Keighley?

Carlton Keighley is at Green Head Road, Utley, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD20 6EB.