SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Thirsk, North Yorkshire

Thirsk School & Sixth Form College

Topcliffe Road, Sowerby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 1RZ

Sixth form
School website 01845522024

Ofsted

Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 24 March 2026.

Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.

Read the Ofsted report

GCSE results 2024/25

Attainment 8 score

43.5 England 47

The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.

Grade 5+ in English & maths

39% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

59% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

3.9 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

46% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is in the lower half of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the bottom quarter.

Progress 8 2023/24

-0.07confidence interval -0.27 to 0.13

Taking that range into account, progress was not statistically different from the national average. DfE bands this as average.

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry
C
Average points per entry
30.4

England average 32.3

A level students
42

Pupils

Pupils on roll
1029
Places
1255
How full
82% full — 1029 of 1255 places taken
Girls / boys
544 / 485
Overall absence
9%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
25%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
23%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
5%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
3%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
18%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
94%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
82%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
8%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
42%
No sustained destination
4%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
141

After sixth form

Went to university
44%

England 50%

In education, work or training
83%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship
8%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
59

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

30% England 20.9%

The third of higher education providers whose entrants hold the highest average entry qualifications. It is the closest thing in the public data to "did they get into a competitive university", and it separates schools far more sharply than the headline progression rate does.

Went on to a degree
60%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
53

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for Hambleton 009F, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree
31%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
23%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
75%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
11%

England 17%

Households with no car
13%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
51%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Community school
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Emma Lambden
Local authority
North Yorkshire
Ward
Sowerby & Topcliffe
Constituency
Thirsk and Malton
URN
121666

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
Queen Mary's SchoolOther independent school No grade 3.8 mi
Darwin SchoolOther independent school No grade 4.6 mi
Cundall Manor SchoolOther independent school No grade 5 mi
Northallerton School & Sixth Form CollegeAcademy sponsor led No grade 37.5 8.4 mi
Ripon Grammar SchoolCommunity school Good 2023 70.9 9.7 mi
Outwood Academy EasingwoldAcademy sponsor led Outstanding 2022 52 9.8 mi
Outwood Academy RiponAcademy converter Good 2024 46.6 9.8 mi

Schools with a similar intake

State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Highgate Wood Secondary SchoolCommunity school No grade 56.3
Saint Gregory's Catholic CollegeVoluntary aided school Good 2022 46.6
Christ The King CollegeVoluntary aided school Requires improvement 2023 44.8
Casterton College RutlandAcademy converter Good 2023 48.7
The Axholme AcademyAcademy converter Good 2023 38.4
Bushey Meads SchoolAcademy converter No grade 43.6
LeAF StudioStudio schools No grade 42.4
The Reach Free SchoolFree schools No grade 44.2

Where these figures come from

  • School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
  • Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
  • Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
  • Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
  • Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.

All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.