Best secondary schools in York

Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy is the top-ranked secondary school in York (LocaleIQ score 94.8 out of 100). Ofsted: Outstanding. Attainment 8 56.7. The score combines Ofsted outcome, Progress 8 and Attainment 8, and cohort-weighted percentile ranks within the York secondary pool.

Knavesmire Primary School tops the York primary school ranking (LocaleIQ 97.3). Ofsted: Outstanding. KS2 expected 84% · higher 21%. See the full primary school ranking for York for the complete list.

Attainment 8 measures average GCSE grades across eight subjects; Progress 8 compares actual grades against predictions based on KS2 — a positive figure means pupils outperformed expectations. Top performers in York: Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy (Attainment 8 56.7); Fulford School (Attainment 8 55.2); All Saints Catholic School York (Attainment 8 53.7). Both metrics feed into the LocaleIQ secondary school score.

4 secondary schools in the York ranking hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating: Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy, Fulford School, All Saints Catholic School York, Huntington School. Outstanding means Ofsted judged the school exceptional in all inspection areas. LocaleIQ weighs DfE performance data alongside Ofsted, so a Good-rated school can still rank highly.

This ranking covers 9 secondary schools in the York comparison pool. Schools without sufficient published data are excluded but may appear in the LocaleIQ directory.

By average LocaleIQ score across postcode areas, YO10 has the strongest cluster — 92.7 average across 2 ranked secondary schools. YO24 sits at the lower end (56.2 average). York schools attract attention nationally; the postcode still decides whether daily life matches the roll. Postcode averages mask individual variation — always review each school's full profile.