The Mirfield Free Grammar
Kitson Hill Road, Mirfield, WF14 9EZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- GREAT HEIGHTS ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Steve Dixon
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Great Heights Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Spen Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,505
- Pupils on roll
- 1,300
- URN
- 136674
- Local authority
- Kirklees
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924483660
About this school
The Mirfield Free Grammar is a secondary academy in Mirfield. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,300 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 216 | 217 | 216 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.0 | 45.2 | 47.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.03 -0.22 to +0.16 | -0.40 -0.59 to -0.21 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 57% | 46.1% | 48.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 68.7% | 74.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 33% | 29% | 28.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
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 The Mirfield Free Grammar 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 | 49 | 40.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.2 | 41 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.8 | 42.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,508 |
| 2023/24 | 1,449 |
| 2024/25 | 1,323 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Mirfield Free Grammar compares
The Mirfield Free Grammar ranked 8th of 25 secondary schools in Kirklees for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.8 | 8.7% | 22.9% | 1,300 | — |
| Castle Hall Academy | 46.9 | 9% | 36.7% | 863 | 0.7 miles |
| Spen Valley High School | 35.7 | 9.6% | 32.4% | 958 | 1.3 miles |
| Heckmondwike Grammar School | 80.2 | 3.6% | 5.8% | 1,522 | 2.0 miles |
| Westborough High School | 42.6 | 9.9% | 46.7% | 900 | 2.3 miles |
| St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy | 34.8 | 12% | 43.5% | 992 | 2.4 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report20 November 2024
- 12 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 22.88%
- English as an additional language
- 15.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.69%
- Persistent absence
- 23.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Castle Hall Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Mirfield
-
Spen Valley High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Liversedge
-
Heckmondwike Grammar School2.0 miles
Secondary · Heckmondwike
-
Westborough High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Dewsbury
-
St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy2.4 miles
Secondary · Dewsbury
Other schools in Mirfield
- Castle Hall Academy Secondary
- Battyeford CofE (VC) Primary School Primary
- Crossley Fields Junior and Infant School Primary
- Crowlees Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Hopton Primary School Primary
- Old Bank Academy Primary
- Hollybank School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Mirfield Free Grammar teach?
- The Mirfield Free Grammar teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Mirfield.
- Who is the principal of The Mirfield Free Grammar?
- The principal of The Mirfield Free Grammar is Mr Steve Dixon, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Mirfield Free Grammar last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Mirfield Free Grammar, 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 The Mirfield Free Grammar?
- The Mirfield Free Grammar has 1,300 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Mirfield Free Grammar full?
- The Mirfield Free Grammar has capacity for 1,505 pupils and 1,300 on roll (86%), 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 The Mirfield Free Grammar a faith school?
- No. The Mirfield Free Grammar has no designated religious character.
- Is The Mirfield Free Grammar a selective school?
- No. The Mirfield Free Grammar is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Mirfield Free Grammar?
- The Mirfield Free Grammar is part of GREAT HEIGHTS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Mirfield Free Grammar's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49 in 2022/23 and 47.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Mirfield Free Grammar rank locally?
- The Mirfield Free Grammar ranked 8th of 25 secondary schools in Kirklees for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Mirfield Free Grammar's absence rate?
- The Mirfield Free Grammar's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Mirfield Free Grammar's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Mirfield Free Grammar'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 1 July 2026.