Ralph Thoresby School
Holtdale Approach, Leeds, LS16 7RX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- The Leeds North West Education Partnership Foundation
- Headteacher
- Mr Will Carr
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Leeds North West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,037
- Pupils on roll
- 987
- URN
- 108075
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01133979911
About this school
Ralph Thoresby School is a foundation secondary school in Leeds. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 987 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ralph Thoresby School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 26 October 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 176 | 173 | 174 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.0 | 40.7 | 39.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.48 -0.70 to -0.27 | -0.50 -0.72 to -0.28 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 35.3% | 35.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 50.3% | 56.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 39% | 35.8% | 41.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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 Ralph Thoresby 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 | Leeds average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.7 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.7 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,042 |
| 2023/24 | 1,035 |
| 2024/25 | 1,004 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ralph Thoresby School compares
Ralph Thoresby School ranked 34th of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.7 | 11.5% | 33.9% | 987 | — |
| Lawnswood School | 42.3 | 11.5% | 44.2% | 1,307 | 1.5 miles |
| Abbey Grange Church of England Academy | 55.9 | 5.1% | 23% | 1,576 | 1.6 miles |
| Horsforth School | 57.3 | 5.1% | 15.9% | 1,837 | 1.7 miles |
| Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School | 58 | 5.6% | 18.7% | 916 | 2.3 miles |
| Allerton High School | 54.3 | 7.4% | 22.6% | 1,764 | 2.3 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 33.85%
- English as an additional language
- 14.8%
- Overall absence
- 11.49%
- Persistent absence
- 32.28%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lawnswood School1.5 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Abbey Grange Church of England Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Horsforth School1.7 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Allerton High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Leeds
Other schools in Leeds
Ralph Thoresby School ranks 25th of the 33 ranked secondary schools in Leeds.
- Abbey Grange Church of England Academy Secondary
- Allerton Grange School Secondary
- Allerton High School Secondary
- Benton Park School Secondary
- Bishop Young Church of England Academy Secondary
- Bruntcliffe Academy Secondary
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School Secondary
- Co-op Academy Leeds Secondary
- Cockburn John Charles Academy Secondary
- Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy Secondary
- Cockburn School Secondary
- Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Ralph Thoresby School teach?
- Ralph Thoresby School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Leeds.
- Who is the headteacher of Ralph Thoresby School?
- The headteacher of Ralph Thoresby School is Mr Will Carr, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ralph Thoresby School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ralph Thoresby 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 Ralph Thoresby School?
- Ralph Thoresby School has 987 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ralph Thoresby School full?
- Ralph Thoresby School has capacity for 1,037 pupils and 987 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ralph Thoresby School a faith school?
- No. Ralph Thoresby School has no designated religious character.
- Is Ralph Thoresby School a selective school?
- No. Ralph Thoresby School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ralph Thoresby School part of an academy trust?
- Ralph Thoresby School is part of The Leeds North West Education Partnership Foundation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Ralph Thoresby School have?
- The schools register lists Ralph Thoresby School's special educational needs provision as: PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Ralph Thoresby School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43 in 2022/23 and 39.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ralph Thoresby School compare with other schools in Leeds?
- Ralph Thoresby School ranked 34th of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ralph Thoresby School's absence rate?
- Ralph Thoresby School's overall absence rate is 11.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ralph Thoresby School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ralph Thoresby 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.