Batley Girls' High School

Batley Girls' High School is a warm, welcoming and strongly pupil-focused school where pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from purposeful lessons and effective pastoral care. Inspectors found the curriculum carefully sequenced across subjects, reading promoted well, and pupils, including sixth-form students, achieving well. Personal development is a standout feature: pupils get rich wider opportunities, strong careers education and meaningful employer encounters, while sixth-form students make a positive contribution and progress to high-quality destinations. Leadership, governance and trust support are effective, staff receive timely professional development, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has improved provision for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and attendance is improving. However, support for pupils with SEND is not consistently adapted across the curriculum, so some do not get the precise help they need, and attendance for some pupils remains too low, meaning they miss valuable learning. This was the school's first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013, when it was judged outstanding and exempt from routine inspection. It is part of Batley Multi Academy Trust and has not been given an overall effectiveness grade under current arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and well supported through strong pastoral care
• Pupils behave well, are respectful and kind around school
• Lessons are purposeful and the curriculum is carefully sequenced across subjects
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and provide regular opportunities to revisit learning
• Reading is promoted well and pupils who struggle are helped to catch up
• Personal development is exceptionally well embedded across key stages
• Pupils access a broad range of wider opportunities, trips and employer encounters
• Careers education is strong and pupils receive personalised support for next steps
• Sixth-form students make valuable contributions and progress to high-quality destinations
• Staff receive timely professional development aligned with school priorities
• Trustees, trust staff and governors provide effective challenge and support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum adaptations for pupils with SEND are not consistently implemented, so some pupils do not receive precise support
• Attendance for some pupils remains too low, causing them to miss valuable learning time

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 Batley Girls' High School attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 30.8% 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, 2.7% of pupils at Batley Girls' 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 Batley Girls' High School had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.6% 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, 7.2% of pupils at Batley Girls' High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.0% 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 Batley Girls' High School received £7,513 and spent £7,432 for each of its 1,372 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,335,000 (£973 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Batley Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,138 and spending £7,078 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 Batley · Kirklees local authority: places and applications

Batley Girls' High School is part of Batley Multi Academy Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Batley Grammar School Batley
• Upper Batley High School Batley
• Healey Junior Infant and Nursery School Batley
• Manorfield Infant and Nursery School Batley
• Field Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School Batley
• Purlwell Infant and Nursery School Batley
• Hyrstmount Junior School Batley

What is Batley Girls' High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Batley Girls' High School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Batley Girls' High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Batley Girls' High School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Batley Girls' High School have?

Batley Girls' High School has 1,415 pupils on roll.

What age range does Batley Girls' High School cover?

Batley Girls' High School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Batley Girls' High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.2, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Batley Girls' High School?

Batley Girls' High School is at Windmill Lane, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 0LD.