Fulford School

About Fulford School

Fulford School’s Progress 8 score of 0.54 is more than double the York local authority average of 0.22, placing it firmly ahead of the typical secondary school in the area. That gap is significant: it means pupils here, on average, achieve nearly half a grade more per subject than students with similar starting points nationally. The school ranks first out of eight secondary schools in York and sits in the top 15 per cent of schools nationally by this measure. Its Attainment 8 score of 58.9 is strong, and 84.7 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths. The school’s EBacc average point score of 5.33 and its 42.5 per cent EBacc entry rate suggest a solid academic focus, though not an exclusively EBacc-heavy curriculum. In short, Fulford is the standout performer in York’s state secondary landscape, and its results are well ahead of what most families in the city can expect from their local school.

Ofsted inspected Fulford in October 2023 and awarded it Outstanding across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This is the school’s second consecutive Outstanding rating, following a similarly top-grade inspection in 2011. At Key Stage 5, the school’s value-added score of 0.25 is rated as above average, and students achieved an average of B+ across their best three A-levels, with 34.2 per cent of entries graded at AAB or higher. The sixth form is a genuine strength, with 176 students in the cohort and a points-per-entry average of 42.45, again equivalent to B+. For a state comprehensive, these are impressive outcomes, and they suggest that the school sustains high performance from Year 7 all the way through to Year 13. Parents looking for a school that consistently delivers strong academic results across both key stages will find plenty of evidence here.

Fulford is a large school with 1,765 pupils on roll, operating close to its capacity of 1,899. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 607 applications for 295 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.06, and 324 families put it as their first preference. The school offers a wide range of facilities, including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, tennis courts, and a sixth form centre. Sports on offer include rowing, hockey, and athletics, while clubs range from the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to Young Enterprise, debate, and a newspaper club. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities, with a resourced provision on site. Fulford suits families who want a large, academically strong, and well-resourced state school with a thriving sixth form, and who are prepared to compete for a place in a popular York school.

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