South Yorkshire has no shortage of high performing secondary schools - and for young people who do particularly well in their GCSEs, there are also plenty of excellent local sixth form options on offer.
Last month, the Government released the latest A Level performance figures for state-funded sixth form colleges and secondary schools, meaning England’s top A Level performers were finally able to be named. We’ve used this new data to compare how sixth forms across the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield council areas did - to create a league table of South Yorkshire’s highest performers in the 2023/24 school year.
They have been ranked by their A Level performance point scores, a unique measurement derived from exam results that gives them a score out of 60. You’ll also see the overall ‘average grades’ each school’s students achieved across their A Level entries. We’ve only included South Yorkshire’s very highest achievers - quite a few of which even made the overall league table for all of Yorkshire.
We also checked that each school included had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was recently dropped, or, if they’ve been inspected more recently, had at least ‘good’ grades across the board. This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management and student safeguarding were all found to meet or exceed government standards last time the school was inspected.
Here were the 15 sixth form schools and colleges from across South Yorkshire that came out on top:
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1. Silverdale School
Silverdale is a secondary academy and sixth form in Sheffield, formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 40.63 - giving it an average grade of B. | Scott Merrylees/National World
2. King Ecgbert School
King Ecgbert is a secondary academy and sixth form in Dore, southwest of Sheffield. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 39.62 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google
3. High Storrs School
High Storrs is another secondary academy and sixth form in Sheffield, formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 39.42 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google
4. Penistone Grammar School
This is a local authority-maintained secondary school and sixth form in Penistone, in the Barnsley borough. Despite its name, it is a comprehensive school. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 39.16 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google