St Aidan's Church of England High School

St Aidan's Church of England High School is a large secondary school and sixth form in Harrogate, part of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust. It has experienced significant leadership change since the last inspection, with the current headteacher in post since September 2023. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils are safe and well supported. The school performs well overall. Achievement is strong: pupils and post-16 students achieve highly, GCSE English and mathematics outcomes are consistently above national averages, and pupils secure ambitious destinations. Attendance is high and above national averages, behaviour is calm and orderly, and personal development and pastoral care are notable strengths. The curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and post-16 provision are all meeting expected standards, with effective teaching and strong support for pupils with SEND. There are clear priorities for improvement. Assessment is not yet used consistently enough across the curriculum to identify gaps and adapt teaching. Monitoring of post-16 provision needs embedding so that students' experiences are routinely positive in all subjects. Leaders and governors also need to strengthen oversight and implementation of the pupil premium strategy so disadvantaged pupils receive consistent, high-quality support in lessons.

Strengths

• Pupils and post-16 students achieve well and produce high-quality work across the curriculum.
• GCSE English and mathematics outcomes are significantly above national averages over time.
• Pupils and students secure and sustain ambitious destinations in education, employment and training.
• Attendance is high, above national averages, and supported by robust systems and targeted action.
• Pupils behave maturely, respectfully and kindly, and bullying is rare and dealt with swiftly.
• A consistently applied behaviour policy creates a calm and orderly learning environment.
• The personal development curriculum is carefully designed and comprehensive.
• Pupils understand healthy relationships, consent, online safety and fundamental British values.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular, residential, performing arts and debate opportunities.
• High-quality pastoral care is a distinctive feature, and pupils feel safe and supported.
• Subject specialists teach an ambitious curriculum and promote subject-specific vocabulary securely.
• Pupils with SEND typically receive the support they need to learn alongside their peers.
• Post-16 students benefit from an associated sixth form offering a wide range of subjects and qualifications.
• Staff are positive about recent leadership changes and value professional learning opportunities.
• Safeguarding standards are met through an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not used consistently enough to identify gaps in learning and inform teaching across the curriculum.
• Monitoring of post-16 provision needs embedding to ensure consistently positive curriculum and teaching experiences.
• There is some variation in students' experiences of teaching in a small number of post-16 subjects.
• Oversight of the pupil premium strategy lacks rigour and the impact of additional funding is not monitored effectively.
• Support for disadvantaged pupils is not implemented consistently in lessons.
• Disadvantaged pupils need ongoing high-quality staff training and routine support to overcome barriers.
• There are minor inconsistencies in how teachers check pupils' understanding and review learning over time.
• Governors and trustees need to monitor the impact of pupil premium funding with greater rigour.
• Leaders recognise inconsistencies in teaching quality and the impact of training on classroom support for disadvantaged pupils.

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 St Aidan's Church of England High School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.8% 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, 1.5% of pupils at St Aidan's Church of England High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 St Aidan's Church of England High School had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.8% 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, 8.9% of pupils at St Aidan's Church of England High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.3% 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 St Aidan's Church of England High School received £7,573 and spent £7,263 for each of its 2,028 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £3,057,000 (£1,508 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, income was £6,950 and spending £6,849 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 Harrogate · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

St Aidan's Church of England High School is part of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• St Peter's Church of England Primary School Harrogate
• Oatlands Infant School Harrogate
• Richard Taylor Church of England Primary School Harrogate
• Pannal Primary School Harrogate
• All Saints Church of England School Harrogate
• North Rigton Church of England Primary School Leeds
• Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School Harrogate
• Masham CofE Primary School Ripon
• Embsay Church of England Primary School Skipton
• Skipton Parish Church of England Primary School Skipton

What is St Aidan's Church of England High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Aidan's Church of England High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St Aidan's Church of England High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Aidan's Church of England High School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Aidan's Church of England High School have?

St Aidan's Church of England High School has 1,966 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Aidan's Church of England High School cover?

St Aidan's Church of England High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Aidan's Church of England High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 59.4, and 74% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Aidan's Church of England High School?

St Aidan's Church of England High School is at Oatlands Drive, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 8JR.