The Brooksbank School

About The Brooksbank School

The Brooksbank School in Calderdale delivers a Progress 8 score of 0.18, which is notably above the local authority average of 0.06 for secondary schools. This places it fifth out of fifteen similar schools in the borough and ranks it in the top third nationally. The school’s overall Progress 8 banding is rated as “Above average,” and it sits just behind Ryburn Valley High School in the local league table. What stands out is the consistency across the core subjects: English progress sits at 0.25, maths at 0.13, and the open element — which includes subjects like humanities and languages — is particularly strong at 0.52. The EBacc element is the only negative figure, at -0.18, suggesting that pupils taking the full EBacc suite of qualifications may not perform as strongly. Still, the headline figure tells a clear story: pupils here make more progress than the typical Calderdale student, and the school is comfortably in the upper half of the local rankings.

Academically, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 47.8, and 71.3% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths — a solid benchmark. At A-level, the picture is more mixed. The school has a value-added score of -0.28, which is rated as “Below average,” and the average points per entry is 28.93, equivalent to a C grade. The best three A-levels average out at a C grade too, with 31.56 points. Only 6.7% of entries achieved AAB or higher. The sixth form is relatively small, with 61 pupils in the data, and it was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection. That inspection, carried out in April 2025, marked a significant turnaround from the previous one in 2022, which had rated the school Inadequate overall. Under headteacher Darren Atkinson, every category — from quality of education to behaviour and leadership — is now rated Good, though the overall effectiveness was not judged in the latest visit.

The school is oversubscribed: for 253 places in 2025/26, it received 384 applications, with 215 first-preference offers. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 1.52, so it’s a popular choice locally. Facilities include a swimming pool, sports hall, tennis courts, science labs, and a sixth form centre. There’s a strong range of clubs and activities — Eco Club, Debate, Chess, Duke of Edinburgh, Orchestra, and Young Enterprise — and 90% of parents who responded to the Parent View survey agreed their child can take part in clubs and activities. SEND provision is broad, covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional needs, speech and language issues, visual impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. 81% of parents would recommend the school, and 85% agreed or strongly agreed that their child does well there. For families in Calderdale looking for a large, improving secondary with strong KS4 progress and a Good Ofsted rating, Brooksbank is a solid option.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About The Brooksbank School

Helpful Guides for Parents