Carlton Keighley

About Carlton Keighley

Carlton Keighley is a mixed 11-16 secondary school in Bradford that currently educates 790 pupils against a capacity of 900, leaving some headroom for growth. The school serves a community with above-average economic disadvantage: 29.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared with the national secondary average of around 24%. Demand is strong, with 387 applications for 165 Year 7 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.35. Of those, 205 were first-preference applications, and 154 first-preference offers were made. The school is led by headteacher Mark Turvey and has no religious character. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, confirmed that standards are being maintained at Good overall, with Good ratings across all graded categories including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Academically, the school's Progress 8 score of -0.29 is below the national average and slightly below the Bradford local authority average of -0.19. This places Carlton Keighley 19th out of 34 secondary schools in the local authority, and 2230th out of 3141 schools nationally, putting it in the bottom half of schools on this measure. The Attainment 8 score sits at 36.3, and 50.3% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though only 27.3% reached grade 5 or above. Entry to the English Baccalaureate is very low at 2.1%, and the EBacc average point score is 2.9. The school's previous Ofsted inspection in 2017 rated it Requires Improvement, so the jump to Good in its 2020 graded inspection and the maintenance of that standard in 2025 represents a clear upward trajectory in leadership and quality of education.

Parent feedback is notably positive. In the Parent View survey covering September 2024 to September 2025, 83% of respondents would recommend the school, and strong agreement was high across several areas: 67% strongly agreed the school has high expectations for their child, 61% strongly agreed their child does well, and 78% strongly agreed their child can take part in clubs and activities. The school offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, and music rooms, plus clubs such as Debate, Orchestra, Drama, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With no sixth form, this is a school for families seeking a supportive, well-regarded local secondary with strong pastoral care and a broad extracurricular offer, though academic outcomes are below the local average.

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