Joseph Rowntree School
Haxby Road, New Earswick, York, YO32 4BZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr David Hewitt
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- York Outer
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,328
- Pupils on roll
- 1,248
- URN
- 121711
- Local authority
- York
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01904552100
About this school
Joseph Rowntree School is a voluntary controlled secondary school in York. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,248 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 13 October 2022, 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 | 211 | 229 | 225 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.3 | 45.8 | 48.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.34 to +0.05 | -0.07 -0.26 to +0.11 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 47.6% | 46.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 68.6% | 66.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 49% | 50.2% | 57.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
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 Joseph Rowntree 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 | York average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.3 | 40.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.8 | 43 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.2 | 44.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,278 |
| 2023/24 | 1,283 |
| 2024/25 | 1,270 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Joseph Rowntree School compares
Joseph Rowntree School ranked 7th of 9 secondary schools in York 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 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.2 | 10.9% | 20% | 1,248 | — |
| Huntington School | 48.2 | 10.4% | 16.4% | 1,505 | 0.6 miles |
| Vale of York Academy | 45.3 | 12.2% | 24.7% | 656 | 1.9 miles |
| Manor Church of England Academy | 54 | 8.1% | 14.8% | 1,136 | 3.1 miles |
| All Saints Catholic School York | 53.7 | 8% | 12.4% | 1,392 | 3.4 miles |
| Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy | 56.7 | 8.7% | 23.3% | 1,803 | 3.4 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)
- 19.98%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 10.91%
- Persistent absence
- 27.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Huntington School0.6 miles
Secondary · York
-
Vale of York Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · York
-
Manor Church of England Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · York
-
All Saints Catholic School York3.4 miles
Secondary · York
-
Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · York
Other schools in York
Joseph Rowntree School ranks 9th of the 13 ranked secondary schools in York.
- All Saints Catholic School York Secondary
- Archbishop Holgate's School, A Church of England Academy Secondary
- Boroughbridge High School Secondary
- Fulford School Secondary
- Huntington School Secondary
- Manor Church of England Academy Secondary
- Millthorpe School Secondary
- Outwood Academy Easingwold Secondary
- Ryedale School Secondary
- Vale of York Academy Secondary
- Woldgate School and Sixth Form College Secondary
- York High School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Joseph Rowntree School teach?
- Joseph Rowntree School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in York.
- Who is the headteacher of Joseph Rowntree School?
- The headteacher of Joseph Rowntree School is Mr David Hewitt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Joseph Rowntree School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Joseph Rowntree 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 Joseph Rowntree School?
- Joseph Rowntree School has 1,248 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Joseph Rowntree School full?
- Joseph Rowntree School has capacity for 1,328 pupils and 1,248 on roll (94%), so it has space against 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 Joseph Rowntree School a faith school?
- No. Joseph Rowntree School has no designated religious character.
- Is Joseph Rowntree School a selective school?
- No. Joseph Rowntree School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Joseph Rowntree School have?
- The schools register lists Joseph Rowntree School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Joseph Rowntree School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.3 in 2022/23 and 48.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Joseph Rowntree School rank locally?
- Joseph Rowntree School ranked 7th of 9 secondary schools in York 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 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 Joseph Rowntree School's absence rate?
- Joseph Rowntree School's overall absence rate is 10.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Joseph Rowntree School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Joseph Rowntree 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 30 June 2026.