Upper Wharfedale School
Wharfeside Avenue, Threshfield, Skipton, BD23 5BS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Chapman
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Skipton and Ripon
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 350
- Pupils on roll
- 351
- URN
- 121690
- Local authority
- North Yorkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01756752215
About this school
Upper Wharfedale School is a community secondary school in Skipton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 351 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 4 December 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 58 | 69 | 77 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.3 | 45.6 | 48.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.55 +0.18 to +0.93 | +0.60 +0.27 to +0.94 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 36.2% | 61% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 65.2% | 80.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 12% | 24.6% | 14.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
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 Upper Wharfedale 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 | North Yorkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.3 | 41.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.6 | 41.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.3 | 40.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 356 |
| 2023/24 | 364 |
| 2024/25 | 363 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Upper Wharfedale School compares
Upper Wharfedale School ranked 15th of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.3 | 7.9% | 13.8% | 351 | — |
| Skipton Girls' High School | 69.7 | 6% | 7.1% | 862 | 7.5 miles |
| Ermysted's Grammar School | 67.3 | 6.3% | 6.5% | 836 | 7.5 miles |
| The Skipton Academy | 41.6 | 7.8% | 26.3% | 736 | 7.6 miles |
| Nidderdale High School | 41.8 | 9.7% | 21% | 404 | 9.8 miles |
| Ilkley Grammar School | 56.5 | 7.8% | 7.1% | 2,219 | 13.1 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)
- 13.77%
- English as an additional language
- 6.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.87%
- Persistent absence
- 22.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Skipton Girls' High School7.5 miles
Secondary · Skipton
-
Ermysted's Grammar School7.5 miles
Secondary · Skipton
-
The Skipton Academy7.6 miles
Secondary · Skipton
-
Nidderdale High School9.8 miles
Secondary · Harrogate
-
Ilkley Grammar School13.1 miles
Secondary · Ilkley
Other schools in Skipton
- Ermysted's Grammar School Secondary
- Skipton Girls' High School Secondary
- The Skipton Academy Secondary
- Brougham Street Nursery School Nursery
- Otley Street Community Nursery School Nursery
- Burnsall Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Carleton Endowed CofE Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cracoe and Rylstone Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School Primary
- Embsay Church of England Primary School Primary
- Gargrave Church of England Primary School Primary
- Grassington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Upper Wharfedale School teach?
- Upper Wharfedale School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Skipton.
- Who is the headteacher of Upper Wharfedale School?
- The headteacher of Upper Wharfedale School is Mr Ian Chapman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Upper Wharfedale School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Upper Wharfedale 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 big is Upper Wharfedale School?
- Upper Wharfedale School has 351 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Upper Wharfedale School full?
- Upper Wharfedale School has capacity for 350 pupils and 351 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 Upper Wharfedale School a faith school?
- No. Upper Wharfedale School has no designated religious character.
- Is Upper Wharfedale School a selective school?
- No. Upper Wharfedale School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Upper Wharfedale School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.3 in 2022/23 and 48.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Upper Wharfedale School rank locally?
- Upper Wharfedale School ranked 15th of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Upper Wharfedale School's absence rate?
- Upper Wharfedale School's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Upper Wharfedale School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Upper Wharfedale 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 3 July 2026.