King James's School

School overview

King James's School is a secondary school serving Huddersfield, Kirklees, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 1,064 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated King James's School 'Good'. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 48.5, broadly in line with the national average of 46. That marks an improvement of 1.7 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 36% of secondary schools nationally.

47% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 69% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 94% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (220 first choices for 206 places). The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2026 lived 1.55 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. After Year 11, 95% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 7.2%. There are about 17.6 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.