Kirkburton Middle School

Kirkburton Middle School is performing well, with a strong standard of education evident in their robust attendance, positive behavior, and effective personal development programs. Leaders are committed to fostering a caring and respectful environment where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to excel both academically and personally. The school offers a diverse curriculum and a variety of enrichment activities, helping pupils develop confidence and a sense of responsibility. However, some challenges remain for disadvantaged and SEND pupils, as they face barriers in achieving their full potential compared to their peers.

Strengths

• Successful improvement in attendance over several years
• Calm and purposeful atmosphere throughout the school
• Strong personal development programs preparing pupils for life beyond school
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils fostering a caring community
• Ambitious and varied curriculum blending primary and secondary education
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent adaptations to lessons for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Disadvantaged pupils perform lower than peers nationally in external tests

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 Kirkburton Middle School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 8.5% 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, 2.6% of pupils at Kirkburton Middle 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 Kirkburton Middle School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 20.4% of pupils at Kirkburton Middle School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% 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 Kirkburton Middle School received £6,533 and spent £6,374 for each of its 502 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £229,000 (£456 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of The Mast Academy Trust, income was £6,805 and spending £6,595 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 Huddersfield · Kirklees local authority: places and applications

Kirkburton Middle School is part of The Mast Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Shelley First School Huddersfield
• Grange Moor Primary School Wakefield
• Birdsedge First School Huddersfield
• Scissett Middle School Huddersfield
• Scholes (Holmfirth) Junior & Infant School Holmfirth

What is Kirkburton Middle School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kirkburton Middle School is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was Kirkburton Middle School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kirkburton Middle School was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does Kirkburton Middle School have?

Kirkburton Middle School has 495 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kirkburton Middle School cover?

Kirkburton Middle School for pupils aged 10 to 13.

What are Kirkburton Middle School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kirkburton Middle School?

Kirkburton Middle School is at Turnshaws Avenue, Kirkburton, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD8 0TJ.