Carleton High School

Academy converter·Secondary school Pontefract, Wakefield·WF8 3NW
Composite score
59.4
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#1,271
National rank
#108
In Yorkshire and The Humber
#6
In Wakefield
Top 40%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
47.5
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
46%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
68%
% EBacc grade 5+
31%
EBacc average points score
4.21

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
79%
251 first choices, 199 places
First choices per place
1.26
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
470
any preference, for 199 places
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.17
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0920220.9820231.1920241.0920251.262026

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

Wakefield does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Carleton High School. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

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

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,021
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
30.1%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
2.5%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.5%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.9%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
7.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
17.7%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
21.5
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£6,787
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
85%
202 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
79%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
4%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

School overview

Carleton High School is a secondary school serving Pontefract, Wakefield, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 1,021 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 47.5 — broadly in line with 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 top 40% of secondary schools nationally.

46% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 68% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Carleton High School is oversubscribed: about 8 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 251 first choices for 199 places. After Year 11, 85% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 7.7%. There are about 21.5 pupils per teacher. Carleton High School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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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