The Brooksbank School

The Brooksbank School is a secondary academy that has been transformed since joining the Together Learning Trust, following an inadequate judgement for its predecessor school. Inspectors found a safe, inclusive and vibrant school where pupils are proud, behave maturely and speak positively about their learning. Leaders have built an ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum across Years 7 to 13, with reading at its centre, and pupils achieve well at the end of key stage 4. Attendance and behaviour have improved over the last two years, and personal development is strong, including sport, volunteering, pupil leadership, careers links and a well-integrated sixth form. Leadership is a notable strength: trust and senior leaders have relentlessly driven improvement, governors and trustees understand the school well, and staff feel supported. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement concern SEND and curriculum consistency. Staff do not always adapt the curriculum appropriately for pupils with SEND, so some cannot fully engage with the ambitious curriculum. In some subjects, including reading, the curriculum is less well embedded, and reading support beyond phonics is still at an early stage.

Strengths

• Ambitious and broad curriculum across Years 7 to 13
• Reading is central to the school's work
• Pupils behave maturely and classrooms are calm and purposeful
• Attendance and behaviour have improved over two years
• Strong personal development and extra-curricular opportunities
• Effective leadership from trust, governors and senior leaders
• High-quality sixth-form support and integration
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Inclusive community with strong staff wellbeing and development

Areas for Improvement

• Staff do not consistently adapt the curriculum for pupils with SEND
• Some pupils with SEND cannot fully engage with the ambitious curriculum
• Reading support beyond phonics is at an early stage of development
• Curriculum implementation is less advanced in some subjects, including reading

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 The Brooksbank School attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 22.1% 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, 10.8% of pupils at The Brooksbank School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 The Brooksbank School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.0% 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, 9.6% of pupils at The Brooksbank School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 The Brooksbank School received £8,265 and spent £8,309 for each of its 1,500 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,596,000 (£1,064 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Together Learning Trust, income was £8,535 and spending £8,358 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 Elland · Calderdale local authority: places and applications

The Brooksbank School is part of Together Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Bolton Brow Primary Academy Sowerby Bridge
• Ryburn Valley High School Sowerby Bridge
• Linthwaite Clough Primary School Huddersfield
• Castle Hill School Huddersfield
• Netherton Infant and Nursery School Huddersfield
• Honley High School Holmfirth
• Meltham Moor Primary School Holmfirth
• Scout Road Academy Hebden Bridge

What is The Brooksbank School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Brooksbank School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was The Brooksbank School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Brooksbank School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does The Brooksbank School have?

The Brooksbank School has 1,446 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Brooksbank School cover?

The Brooksbank School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Brooksbank School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.5, and 57% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Brooksbank School?

The Brooksbank School is at Victoria Road, Elland, West Yorkshire, HX5 0QG.