Northallerton School & Sixth Form College

Northallerton School & Sixth Form College has undergone significant recent change, including a new headteacher from April 2025 and a new senior leadership structure, and it is part of the Arete Learning Trust. Inspectors found that safeguarding standards are met and that most areas of the school's work are at the expected standard, including attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development, and post-16 provision. Pupils generally behave well, feel safe, and benefit from improved routines and a broad enrichment and careers offer. Attendance is improving and persistent absence is falling, although both remain below national averages. The main area needing attention is achievement. Historically and in recent published outcomes, pupils have not achieved well at the end of key stage 4, with attainment and progress below national averages and many pupils not gaining the outcomes they need for their next steps. Disadvantaged pupils also perform below national averages and the disadvantage gap is wide, though there has been some incremental improvement in English and mathematics. The school's new curriculum and teaching approaches are starting to have a positive impact, especially in subjects such as English and mathematics, but implementation is not yet consistently strong across all subjects and year groups. Sixth-form students achieve much better and are generally in line with national averages.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
• Pupils behave well and the school is calm and orderly, with bullying and harassment rare.
• Attendance is improving and persistent absence is reducing because of effective attendance strategies and support.
• Leaders have introduced an ambitious, well-planned curriculum with sensible teaching approaches based on research.
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and generally teach the curriculum well.
• Leaders identify and address gaps in pupils' basic reading and mathematical skills effectively.
• Pupils with SEND are identified early and generally well supported, including through transition work and tailored provision.
• Internal support provisions and effective use of additional funding help remove barriers for vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with clear roles, accurate oversight, and appropriate support and challenge.
• Staff feel supported, positive about recent changes, and access well-planned professional learning.
• The personal development programme is well planned and promotes kindness, resilience, respect, diversity, and British values.
• Pupil and sixth-form leaders make a positive contribution to school and community life, including social action groups.
• Pupils access a wide range of extracurricular activities, trips, and enrichment, including SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• A well-structured careers programme provides impartial advice, work experience, and preparation for next steps.
• Post-16 provision is suitable and well planned, with students generally achieving in line with national averages and receiving effective individual support.
• Students in the sixth form are well prepared for further education, training, or employment.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is the only area graded as needing attention, with key stage 4 attainment and progress below national averages over time.
• Many pupils leave Year 11 without the outcomes they need to be well prepared for their next steps.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment and progress are below national averages, and the disadvantage gap remains wide.
• Attendance, including persistent absence, remains above national averages despite recent improvement.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent between subjects and year groups.
• Leaders need to embed actions to raise achievement more robustly so improvement is reflected in national tests at key stage 4.
• Teaching of the revised curriculum needs to be consistently high quality across all subjects and year groups.
• Work to improve attendance for groups and individuals needs to be carefully sustained.

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 Northallerton School & Sixth Form College attended 87.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.1% 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, 17.8% of pupils at Northallerton School & Sixth Form College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 10 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 Northallerton School & Sixth Form College had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.0% 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, 19.2% of pupils at Northallerton School & Sixth Form College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.9% 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 Northallerton School & Sixth Form College received £8,221 and spent £8,253 for each of its 1,042 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £602,000 (£577 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Areté Learning Trust, income was £7,175 and spending £7,249 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 Northallerton · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

Northallerton School & Sixth Form College is part of Areté Learning Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Mill Hill Primary School Northallerton
• Broomfield School Northallerton
• Richmond School & Sixth Form College Richmond
• Stokesley School Stokesley
• Helmsley Community Primary School York
• Nunthorpe School & Sixth Form Middlesbrough
• Ryedale School York
• Kirkbymoorside Community Primary School York
• Sinnington Community Primary School York
• Norton School Malton

What is Northallerton School & Sixth Form College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Northallerton School & Sixth Form College is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Northallerton School & Sixth Form College last inspected by Ofsted?

Northallerton School & Sixth Form College was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Northallerton School & Sixth Form College have?

Northallerton School & Sixth Form College has 1,002 pupils on roll.

What age range does Northallerton School & Sixth Form College cover?

Northallerton School & Sixth Form College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Northallerton School & Sixth Form College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.9, and 26% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Northallerton School & Sixth Form College?

Northallerton School & Sixth Form College is at Brompton Road, Northallerton, DL6 1ED.