Non-maintained special school

The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form

Boys · ages 5–19 · with sixth formCalderdale, Yorkshire and the Humber · Brighouse HD6 3JWSchool website
Pupils on roll
83of 87 places
Free school meals
57.9%
Year 11 cohort 2025
7
Ofsted
Outstanding, 13 September 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says

Of the 12 pupils who finished Year 11 at The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form in 2023, 0% stayed on in The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form’s own sixth form (Calderdale average 30%), 8% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

17% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.

Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.

The William Henry Smith School and Sixth Form is a special school: its GCSE figures (Attainment 8 of 0.6, 0% with grade 5 or above in English and maths) are published by DfE for completeness and are not comparable with mainstream schools.

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Calderdale and England.

This school
Calderdale
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureThis schoolCalderdaleEngland
Pupils in the cohort122,826607,348
Any sustained destination83%92%92%
Stayed in education83%85%86%
— school sixth form0%30%34%
— sixth form college0%19%13%
— further education college8%34%37%
— other education75%2%2%
Apprenticeship0%5%3%
Employment0%2%3%
No sustained destination17%6%6%
Destination unknown0%2%3%

Where students went after sixth form

Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.

No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.

GCSE results 2025

MeasureThis schoolCalderdaleEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)0.648.746.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths0%51%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths0%70%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%33%41%
EBacc average point score0.004.204.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort27%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils38.334.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils52.650.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language15%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
Art and Design114%7%24%

Other secondary schools in Calderdale

Brighouse High School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,317 pupils

81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.0

Lightcliffe Academy

Academy sponsor led · 788 pupils

82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.5

Park Lane Academy

Academy sponsor led · 481 pupils

78% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.9

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.