Bradford Girls' Grammar School

Bradford Girls’ Grammar School is an improving school that has moved on from its previous Requires improvement judgement. Inspectors found pupils ambitious, respectful and safe, with calm and purposeful classrooms, behaviour that has improved significantly, and outcomes above national averages across the curriculum. The school has high expectations and effective safeguarding arrangements. The school has faced significant turbulence, including joining Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, separating from the primary school, high staff turnover and a new leadership team. Despite this, provision for pupils with SEND has improved significantly, attendance is now in line with national averages, and reading is prioritised effectively. Leaders support staff well and trustees provide strong oversight. The main areas for improvement are inconsistent curriculum delivery across key stages, particularly weaker implementation at key stage 3 than key stage 4, a limited extra-curricular offer that pupils do not regularly attend, and careers advice that does not fully prepare pupils to make informed choices about their future options.

Strengths

• Pupils are ambitious, respectful and feel safe at school.
• Behaviour has improved significantly and pupils behave well in lessons and social times.
• Classrooms are calm and purposeful, and pupils are eager to learn.
• Pupils achieve outcomes above national averages across the curriculum.
• The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Reading is prioritised through a three-tiered approach, including support for weakest readers.
• Provision for pupils with SEND has improved significantly and pupils with SEND achieve well.
• Attendance is in line with national averages and persistent absence has reduced.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders support staff workload and provide well-structured professional development.
• Trustees and the local governing body have strong oversight of the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across key stages, with key stage 3 less effective than key stage 4.
• Some pupils at key stage 3 have gaps in knowledge and struggle to recall learning from some time ago.
• Pupils do not have access to a wide variety of extra-curricular opportunities.
• Pupils do not regularly attend the extra-curricular activities that are available.
• Careers advice is not thorough or wide-ranging enough to help all pupils make informed choices.
• Some pupils do not feel well prepared for their next steps in education.
• Work is ongoing to ensure staff consistently apply SEND support strategies in the classroom.

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 Bradford Girls' Grammar School attended 89.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 30.2% 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, 8.0% of pupils at Bradford Girls' 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 Bradford Girls' Grammar School had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.4% 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, 8.4% of pupils at Bradford Girls' Grammar School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% 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 Bradford Girls' Grammar School received £8,854 and spent £8,608 for each of its 677 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £430,000 (£636 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £8,537 and spending £8,479 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 Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Bradford Girls' Grammar School is part of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Lady Royd Primary School Bradford
• St Philip's CofE Primary School Bradford
• The Academy At St. James Bradford
• Belle Vue Girls' Academy Bradford
• Clayton St John CofE Primary School Bradford
• St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy Bradford
• Shipley CofE Primary School Shipley
• Westminster Church of England Primary Academy Bradford
• Wycliffe CofE Primary School Shipley
• Christ Church Church of England Academy Shipley

What is Bradford Girls' Grammar School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bradford Girls' Grammar School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Bradford Girls' Grammar School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bradford Girls' Grammar School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Bradford Girls' Grammar School have?

Bradford Girls' Grammar School has 667 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bradford Girls' Grammar School cover?

Bradford Girls' Grammar School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Bradford Girls' Grammar School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.8, and 45% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Bradford Girls' Grammar School?

Bradford Girls' Grammar School is at Squire Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD9 6RB.