Highfield School
Gawthorpe Lane, Ossett, WF5 9BS
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- Education Ossett - Community Trust
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rebecca Thompson
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Ossett and Denby Dale
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 210
- URN
- 108311
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924264240
About this school
Highfield School is a foundation special school in Ossett. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 210 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Highfield 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 November 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 | 33 | 22 | 24 |
| Attainment 8 score | 0.2 | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | -1.68 -2.16 to -1.20 | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.0 | - | - |
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 Highfield 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 191 |
| 2023/24 | 203 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 52.83%
- English as an additional language
- 7.2%
- Overall absence
- 10.16%
- Persistent absence
- 29.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Madni Academy2.1 miles
Independent schools · Dewsbury
-
Paradise Primary School2.1 miles
Independent schools · Dewsbury
-
Silcoates School2.1 miles
Independent schools · West Yorkshire
-
Hall Cliffe Primary School2.2 miles
Special schools · Wakefield
-
Rida Girls High School2.2 miles
Independent schools · West Yorkshire
Other schools in Ossett
- Dimple Well Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Gawthorpe Community Academy Primary
- Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School Primary
- Ossett Holy Trinity CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Ossett Southdale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Primary
- South Ossett Infant Academy Primary
- Towngate Primary Academy Primary
- Ossett Academy and Sixth Form College Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Highfield School teach?
- Highfield School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Ossett.
- Who is the headteacher of Highfield School?
- The headteacher of Highfield School is Mrs Rebecca Thompson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Highfield School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Highfield 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 Highfield School?
- Highfield School has 210 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Highfield School full?
- Highfield School has capacity for 210 pupils and 210 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 Highfield School a faith school?
- No. Highfield School has no designated religious character.
- Is Highfield School part of an academy trust?
- Highfield School is part of Education Ossett - Community Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Highfield School have?
- The schools register lists Highfield School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Highfield School's absence rate?
- Highfield School's overall absence rate is 10.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Highfield School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Highfield 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.