Holmfirth High School
Heys Road, Thongsbridge, Holmfirth, HD9 7SE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr Ben Stitchman
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Colne Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,330
- Pupils on roll
- 1,328
- URN
- 107769
- Local authority
- Kirklees
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01484691460
About this school
Holmfirth High School is a community secondary school in Holmfirth. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,328 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holmfirth High School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 261 | 261 | 261 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.3 | 55.3 | 58.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.74 +0.56 to +0.91 | +0.72 +0.55 to +0.90 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 66% | 65.5% | 74.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 84% | 81.6% | 86.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 27.2% | 20.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Holmfirth High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kirklees average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55.3 | 40.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.3 | 41 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.6 | 42.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,314 |
| 2023/24 | 1,342 |
| 2024/25 | 1,329 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holmfirth High School compares
Holmfirth High School ranked 2nd of 25 secondary schools in Kirklees for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.6 | 6.6% | 17.8% | 1,328 | — |
| Honley High School | 50.6 | 9.1% | 23% | 1,240 | 1.8 miles |
| Newsome Academy | 44.1 | 6.9% | 46.1% | 824 | 3.0 miles |
| King James's School | 48.5 | 7.2% | 27.5% | 1,055 | 3.4 miles |
| Moor End Academy | 45.9 | 6.7% | 47.9% | 1,053 | 3.7 miles |
| Colne Valley High School | 42.4 | 9% | 25% | 1,360 | 4.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
- 20 June 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report9 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.76%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.56%
- Persistent absence
- 15.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Honley High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Holmfirth
-
Newsome Academy3.0 miles
Secondary · Huddersfield
-
King James's School3.4 miles
Secondary · Huddersfield
-
Moor End Academy3.7 miles
Secondary · Huddersfield
-
Colne Valley High School4.2 miles
Secondary · Huddersfield
Other schools in Holmfirth
- Honley High School Secondary
- Brockholes Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Hade Edge Junior, Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Helme Church of England Academy Primary
- Hepworth Junior and Infant School Primary
- Hinchliffe Mill Junior and Infant School Primary
- Holme Junior and Infant School Primary
- Holmfirth Junior Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Honley CofE (VC) Junior, Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Meltham CofE (VC) Primary School Primary
- Meltham Moor Primary School Primary
- Netherthong Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Holmfirth High School teach?
- Holmfirth High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Holmfirth.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Holmfirth High School?
- The executive headteacher of Holmfirth High School is Mr Ben Stitchman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holmfirth High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holmfirth High School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Holmfirth High School?
- Holmfirth High School has 1,328 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Holmfirth High School full?
- Holmfirth High School has capacity for 1,330 pupils and 1,328 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Holmfirth High School a faith school?
- No. Holmfirth High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Holmfirth High School a selective school?
- No. Holmfirth High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Holmfirth High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55.3 in 2022/23 and 58.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holmfirth High School compare with other schools in Kirklees?
- Holmfirth High School ranked 2nd of 25 secondary schools in Kirklees for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holmfirth High School's absence rate?
- Holmfirth High School's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holmfirth High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holmfirth High School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.