Forge Valley School & Sixth Form
Wood Lane, Sheffield, S6 5HG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- INOVA MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mr Dale Barrowclough
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Tapton School Academy trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Sheffield Hallam
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,494
- URN
- 140547
- Local authority
- Sheffield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01142348805
About this school
Forge Valley School & Sixth Form is a secondary academy in Sheffield. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,494 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Forge Valley School & Sixth Form, 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
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
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 236 | 233 | 256 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.2 | 47.4 | 46.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.12 -0.31 to +0.06 | -0.18 -0.36 to +0.01 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 46.8% | 55.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 69.1% | 70.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 39% | 43.3% | 43% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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 Forge Valley School & Sixth Form has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sheffield average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48.2 | 40.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.4 | 39.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.6 | 40 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,484 |
| 2023/24 | 1,510 |
| 2024/25 | 1,533 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Forge Valley School & Sixth Form compares
Forge Valley School & Sixth Form ranked 11th of 29 secondary schools in Sheffield for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.6 | 9.3% | 26.9% | 1,494 | — |
| Tapton School & Sixth Form | 58 | 6% | 17.4% | 1,747 | 1.6 miles |
| E-Act Parkwood Academy | 36.5 | 8.7% | 52.3% | 886 | 1.7 miles |
| Notre Dame High School | 52.8 | 6.7% | 16.1% | 1,491 | 1.8 miles |
| King Edward VII School | 50.8 | 8.5% | 28.6% | 1,729 | 1.8 miles |
| Bradfield Secondary School | 49.2 | 6.3% | 15.8% | 1,006 | 2.2 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)
- 26.89%
- English as an additional language
- 9.2%
- Overall absence
- 9.32%
- Persistent absence
- 23.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Tapton School & Sixth Form1.6 miles
Secondary · Sheffield
-
E-Act Parkwood Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Sheffield
-
Notre Dame High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Sheffield
-
King Edward VII School1.8 miles
Secondary · Sheffield
-
Bradfield Secondary School2.2 miles
Secondary · Sheffield
Other schools in Sheffield
Forge Valley School & Sixth Form ranks 12th of the 34 ranked secondary schools in Sheffield.
- All Saints' Catholic High School Secondary
- Aston Academy Secondary
- Bradfield Secondary School Secondary
- Chaucer School Secondary
- Dinnington High School Secondary
- E-Act Parkwood Academy Secondary
- Ecclesfield School Secondary
- Eckington School Secondary
- Fir Vale Academy Secondary
- Handsworth Grange Community Sports College Secondary
- High Storrs School Secondary
- King Ecgbert School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Forge Valley School & Sixth Form teach?
- Forge Valley School & Sixth Form teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Sheffield.
- Who is the headteacher of Forge Valley School & Sixth Form?
- The headteacher of Forge Valley School & Sixth Form is Mr Dale Barrowclough, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Forge Valley School & Sixth Form been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Forge Valley School & Sixth Form, 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 Forge Valley School & Sixth Form?
- Forge Valley School & Sixth Form has 1,494 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Forge Valley School & Sixth Form full?
- Forge Valley School & Sixth Form has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,494 on roll (111%), 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 Forge Valley School & Sixth Form a faith school?
- No. Forge Valley School & Sixth Form has no designated religious character.
- Is Forge Valley School & Sixth Form a selective school?
- No. Forge Valley School & Sixth Form is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Forge Valley School & Sixth Form part of an academy trust?
- Forge Valley School & Sixth Form is part of INOVA MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Forge Valley School & Sixth Form have?
- The schools register lists Forge Valley School & Sixth Form's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Forge Valley School & Sixth Form's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.2 in 2022/23 and 46.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Forge Valley School & Sixth Form compare with other schools in Sheffield?
- Forge Valley School & Sixth Form ranked 11th of 29 secondary schools in Sheffield for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Forge Valley School & Sixth Form's absence rate?
- Forge Valley School & Sixth Form's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Forge Valley School & Sixth Form's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Forge Valley School & Sixth Form'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.