Ryburn Valley High School
St Peter's Avenue, Sowerby, Sowerby Bridge, HX6 1DF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- TOGETHER LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Donna Watkins
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Together Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Halifax
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,589
- URN
- 141307
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01422832070
About this school
Ryburn Valley High School is a secondary academy in Sowerby Bridge. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,589 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 13 July 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 | 262 | 270 | 278 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.9 | 48.7 | 48.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.12 -0.05 to +0.29 | +0.21 +0.04 to +0.38 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 60% | 56.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 72.6% | 75.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 12% | 14.4% | 12.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.0 | 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 Ryburn Valley High 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 | Calderdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.9 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.7 | 39 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.7 | 37.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,658 |
| 2023/24 | 1,645 |
| 2024/25 | 1,614 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ryburn Valley High School compares
Ryburn Valley High School ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Calderdale for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% 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 | 48.7 | 9.3% | 25.9% | 1,589 | — |
| Trinity Academy Grammar | 46.3 | 9% | 54.5% | 968 | 1.2 miles |
| The Crossley Heath School | 74.5 | 4.6% | 11.6% | 1,179 | 2.3 miles |
| Park Lane Academy | 40.9 | 8.6% | 56.4% | 481 | 3.4 miles |
| The Brooksbank School | 50.7 | 8% | 28.5% | 1,446 | 3.7 miles |
| Trinity Academy Halifax | 44.5 | 6.4% | 37.6% | 1,624 | 4.1 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)
- 25.87%
- English as an additional language
- 3.3%
- Overall absence
- 9.26%
- Persistent absence
- 25.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Trinity Academy Grammar1.2 miles
Secondary · Sowerby Bridge
-
The Crossley Heath School2.3 miles
Secondary · Halifax
-
Park Lane Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Halifax
-
The Brooksbank School3.7 miles
Secondary · Elland
-
Trinity Academy Halifax4.1 miles
Secondary · Halifax
Other schools in Sowerby Bridge
- Trinity Academy Grammar Secondary
- Bolton Brow Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School Primary
- New Road Primary School Primary
- Norland CE School Primary
- Ripponden Junior and Infant School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy Primary
- St John's Primary School In Rishworth Primary
- St Mary's CofE (VC) J and I School Primary
- Triangle CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Trinity Academy St Peter's Primary
- Rishworth School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Ryburn Valley High School teach?
- Ryburn Valley High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sowerby Bridge.
- Who is the headteacher of Ryburn Valley High School?
- The headteacher of Ryburn Valley High School is Mrs Donna Watkins, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ryburn Valley High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ryburn Valley High 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 Ryburn Valley High School?
- Ryburn Valley High School has 1,589 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ryburn Valley High School full?
- Ryburn Valley High School has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,589 on roll (106%), 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 Ryburn Valley High School a faith school?
- No. Ryburn Valley High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Ryburn Valley High School a selective school?
- No. Ryburn Valley High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Ryburn Valley High School?
- Ryburn Valley High School is part of TOGETHER LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ryburn Valley High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.9 in 2022/23 and 48.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ryburn Valley High School rank locally?
- Ryburn Valley High School ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Calderdale for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 71% 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 Ryburn Valley High School's absence rate?
- Ryburn Valley High School's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ryburn Valley High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ryburn Valley High 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 1 July 2026.