Wensleydale School

Community school·Secondary school Leyburn, North Yorkshire·DL8 5HY
Composite score
51.9
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#2,299
National rank
#213
In Yorkshire and The Humber
#32
In North Yorkshire
Top 72%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
41.5
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
35%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
57%
% EBacc grade 5+
3%
EBacc average points score
3.51

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Requires improvement

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
77 first choices, 83 places
First choices per place
0.93
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
184
any preference, for 83 places
Last place offered lived
8.70 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 14003 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.26
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9520220.9220231.0520241.1920250.932026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it. In 2026 the school was not oversubscribed, so no distance limit applied.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
388
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
18.3%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
1.3%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
24.7%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
6.4%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
9.3%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
32.5%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
14.3
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,425
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
96%
57 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
72%
Apprenticeship
14%
Employment
11%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Wensleydale School

Wensleydale School is a secondary school in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, classified by the DfE as a community school. Around 388 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 41.5 — below the national average (national average: 46). Performance is little changed year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

35% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 57% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Wensleydale School their first choice was offered one of its 83 Year 7 places. In 2025 the furthest child offered a place lived 8.70 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. After Year 11, 96% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 9.3%. There are about 14.3 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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