Batley Grammar School

Batley Grammar School is a calm, welcoming all-through school where the values of respect, community and resilience are shared across primary and secondary phases. Pupils concentrate and work hard, relationships between staff and pupils are positive, and attendance is strong and rising for all groups. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This is an academy free school for pupils aged 3 to 16 within Batley Multi Academy Trust, and it has seen significant leadership change since its last inspection. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and under the current framework it did not receive an overall effectiveness grade. Inspectors found much to praise. The curriculum reflects leaders’ vision of a strong school community, with on-site alternatives and trust resources helping to meet pupils’ needs, including for pupils with SEND. Early reading and phonics are strong, secondary reading interventions are well targeted, and personal development and careers provision are appropriate. Leaders and the trust have also developed productive parent partnerships and support for staff well-being. The main areas for improvement concern precision and consistency. In some subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the component knowledge pupils need to build over time, and some early years activities are not designed precisely enough to support curriculum intent and preparation for key stage 1. Oversight and collaboration between primary and secondary leadership are not consistently strong, including in personal development, which leads to some differences in pupils’ experiences across phases.

Strengths

• Calm and welcoming environment with shared values of respect, community and resilience
• Pupils concentrate, work hard and have positive relationships with staff
• Strengthened behaviour systems support positive teacher-pupil relationships
• Pupils are confident they can get help if they are worried
• School councils give pupils a voice in school development
• Clear information about pupils helps teachers support achievement
• SEND provision is strengthened by the personalised learning centre and hub
• On-site alternatives and trust resources help meet the needs of all pupils
• Targeted adult support helps disadvantaged pupils access the curriculum in primary
• Connect activities help pupils remember important learning
• Early reading and phonics are strong, with consistent delivery and staff expertise
• Secondary reading interventions are well targeted for fluency, expression, comprehension and decoding
• Attendance is strong and rising for all groups, including disadvantaged pupils
• Personal, social, health and economic education and careers provision are appropriate
• Trust employment fairs and school-based careers events enhance pupils’ opportunities
• The Stronger Together forum builds productive partnerships with parents and carers
• Governors and trustees support staff well-being, and staff are proud to work at the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not precisely identify the component knowledge pupils need to learn
• Sharing of good practice across primary and secondary phases needs strengthening to improve curriculum precision and progression
• Some early years activities are not precise enough to support curriculum intent, including subject-specific vocabulary
• Early years provision does not always prepare children as well as it could for key stage 1
• Leadership oversight and collaboration between primary and secondary phases are inconsistent, including for personal development
• Differences in provision between primary and secondary affect the quality of pupils’ experience
• Stronger oversight of primary-secondary links would create more purposeful opportunities for pupils to work together

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 Grammar School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.2% 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, 3.9% of pupils at Batley Grammar School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Grammar School had 19.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.5% 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, 11.2% of pupils at Batley Grammar School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.8% 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 Grammar School received £7,545 and spent £7,163 for each of its 1,000 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £807,000 (£807 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 Grammar School is part of Batley Multi Academy Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

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

What is Batley Grammar School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Batley Grammar School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Batley Grammar School last inspected by Ofsted?

Batley Grammar School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Batley Grammar School have?

Batley Grammar School has 980 pupils on roll.

What age range does Batley Grammar School cover?

Batley Grammar School for pupils aged 3 to 16.

What are Batley Grammar School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.5, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are Batley Grammar School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Batley Grammar School?

Batley Grammar School is at Carlinghow Hill, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 0AD.