Park Lane Academy
Park Lane, Exley, Halifax, HX3 9LG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- SOUTH PENNINE ACADEMIES
- Headteacher
- Mr Stuart Hillary
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- SOUTH PENNINE ACADEMIES
- Constituency
- Halifax
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 481
- URN
- 143115
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01422362215
About this school
Park Lane Academy is a secondary academy in Halifax. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 481 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Park Lane Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Inadequate
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: serious weaknesses.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 91 | 62 | 91 |
| Attainment 8 score | 30.1 | 32.9 | 40.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.05 -1.35 to -0.75 | -1.10 -1.47 to -0.74 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 15% | 14.5% | 35.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 32% | 33.9% | 56% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 21% | 33.9% | 23.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.5 |
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 Park Lane Academy 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 | 30.1 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 32.9 | 39 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.9 | 37.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 436 |
| 2023/24 | 430 |
| 2024/25 | 472 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Park Lane Academy compares
Park Lane Academy ranked 9th of 11 secondary schools in Calderdale for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% 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 | 40.9 | 8.6% | 56.4% | 481 | — |
| The Brooksbank School | 50.7 | 8% | 28.5% | 1,446 | 1.2 miles |
| The Crossley Heath School | 74.5 | 4.6% | 11.6% | 1,179 | 1.5 miles |
| Rastrick High School | 49.9 | 7.7% | 23.9% | 1,774 | 2.3 miles |
| Brighouse High School | 40 | 8.6% | 22.8% | 1,317 | 2.4 miles |
| Trinity Academy Grammar | 46.3 | 9% | 54.5% | 968 | 2.7 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)
- 56.36%
- English as an additional language
- 16.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.62%
- Persistent absence
- 28.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Brooksbank School1.2 miles
Secondary · Elland
-
The Crossley Heath School1.5 miles
Secondary · Halifax
-
Rastrick High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Brighouse
-
Brighouse High School2.4 miles
Secondary · Brighouse
-
Trinity Academy Grammar2.7 miles
Secondary · Sowerby Bridge
Other schools in Halifax
Park Lane Academy ranks 5th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Halifax.
- Lightcliffe Academy Secondary
- The Crossley Heath School Secondary
- The North Halifax Grammar School Secondary
- Trinity Academy Halifax Secondary
- Abbey Park Academy Primary
- All Saints' CofE Primary School Primary
- Ash Green Community Primary School Primary
- Barkisland CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill School Primary
- Bowling Green Academy Primary
- Bradshaw Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Pellon CofE VC Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Park Lane Academy teach?
- Park Lane Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Halifax.
- Who is the headteacher of Park Lane Academy?
- The headteacher of Park Lane Academy is Mr Stuart Hillary, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Park Lane Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Park Lane Academy, 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 Park Lane Academy?
- Park Lane Academy has 481 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Park Lane Academy full?
- Park Lane Academy has capacity for 600 pupils and 481 on roll (80%), 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 Park Lane Academy a faith school?
- No. Park Lane Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Park Lane Academy a selective school?
- No. Park Lane Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Park Lane Academy part of an academy trust?
- Park Lane Academy is part of SOUTH PENNINE ACADEMIES. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Park Lane Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 30.1 in 2022/23 and 40.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Park Lane Academy compare with other schools in Calderdale?
- Park Lane Academy ranked 9th of 11 secondary schools in Calderdale for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% 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 Park Lane Academy's absence rate?
- Park Lane Academy's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Park Lane Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Park Lane Academy'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 2 July 2026.