Ralph Thoresby School

About Ralph Thoresby School

Ralph Thoresby School is a mixed state secondary and sixth form in the Leeds local authority, serving 1004 pupils aged 11 to 18. It sits 35th out of 42 secondary schools in Leeds when ranked by Progress 8, placing it in the bottom half of the authority. For context, the top-performing schools nearby include The Ruth Gorse Academy, Allerton High School, and Mount St Mary's Catholic High School. The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 517 applications for 186 places, with 131 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.78. This level of demand suggests it remains a popular choice among local families despite its ranking. The school is led by headteacher Will Carr and has no religious character. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in October 2023, confirmed the school remains Good, a significant improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2015 when it was rated Requires Improvement.

Academically, Ralph Thoresby's results are mixed. At Key Stage 4, its Progress 8 score is -0.5, which is below average nationally and well below the Leeds local authority average of 0.07. The school ranks in the bottom 50 nationally on this measure, at the 83rd percentile. Attainment 8 stands at 40.7, and 50.3% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. The EBacc average point score is 3.5, with 35.8% of pupils entering the EBacc combination. At Key Stage 5, the picture is more encouraging: the sixth form has a value-added score of -0.06, rated as Average, and pupils achieved an average of 31.9 points per entry, equivalent to a C+ grade. The best three A-levels averaged a B-, and 26.7% of entries were graded AAB or higher. The sixth form was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection, with leadership and management also judged Good.

The school offers a solid range of facilities, including a swimming pool, sports hall, tennis courts, astro turf, playing fields, science labs, a library, ICT suite, gymnasium, and a sixth form centre. Sports on offer include cross country, martial arts, cricket, swimming, rounders, basketball, dance, and gymnastics, while clubs cover coding, chess, drama, newspaper, choir, film club, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and a resourced provision. With 32.2% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment. It will suit families who value a large, inclusive comprehensive with strong sixth form outcomes and a wide extracurricular offer, but who are realistic about its below-average KS4 progress compared with the highest-performing Leeds secondaries.

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