Royal School for the Deaf Derby

Non-maintained special school · Mixed · ages 3–19 · with sixth formDerby, Derby DE22school website

Almost all Year 11 leavers stay in education (England 86%); as a special school, its figures are not comparable with mainstream schools.

Where this school leads
100%

of Year 11 leavers stayed in education · Derby 80% · England 86% · DfE destination measures, pupils who left in 2023

Knowledge sphere of Royal School for the Deaf Derby: fields of knowledge mapped by the subjects taken here, by ISCED levelLanguage & Communication · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Language & Communication · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 15%Language & Communication · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Language & Communication · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 10%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Mathematics & Statistics · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Natural Sciences · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 1%Natural Sciences · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Natural Sciences · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 9%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Digital & ICT Skills · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 4%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Engineering & Manufacturing · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Health & Safety · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Health & Safety · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Business & Administration · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Business & Administration · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Law & Public Administration · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 3%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Social & Cultural Skills · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 6%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Arts & Humanities · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Transversal Skills · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Transversal Skills · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 1 Primary: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 2 Lower secondary (Key Stage 3): 100%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 3 Upper secondary (GCSE, A level): 7%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 4 Post-secondary: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 5 Short-cycle tertiary: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 6 Bachelor's: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 7 Master's: 0%Green & Sustainability · ISCED 8 Doctoral: 0%LanguageMathsScienceICTEngineeringHealthBusinessLawSocialArtsTransversalGreen
Ofsted
Standards kept
Places
—
Pupils
127
Free school meals
38.3%

Ofsted: Short inspection, 11 December 2024: the last full grade still stands · report. Places: the last distance at which places were offered is not on file (it comes from Derby’s allocation statistics). Pupils: of 141 places, including the sixth form. Free school meals: pupils eligible, a measure of family income.

After Year 11 · age 16

Where do pupils go at 16?

100%stayed in education after Year 11
This school100%
Derby80%
England86%

DfE Key Stage 4 destination measures · 13 pupils who left Year 11 in 2023

Of the 13 pupils who finished Year 11 at Royal School for the Deaf Derby in 2023, 0% stayed on in Royal School for the Deaf Derby’s own sixth form (Derby average 28%), 31% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.

Stayed in education — counted only if the pupil was still there for two terms of the next year; apprenticeships and jobs are counted the same way.

Full breakdown11
MeasureThis schoolDerbyEngland
Pupils in the cohort133,329607,348
Any sustained destination100%87%92%
Stayed in education100%80%86%
— school sixth form0%28%34%
— sixth form college0%3%13%
— further education college31%47%37%
— other education69%2%2%
Apprenticeship0%5%3%
Employment0%2%3%
No sustained destination0%8%6%
Destination unknown0%5%3%
After sixth form · age 18

Where do sixth-formers go at 18?

No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.

GCSE · Year 11 · 2025

How do GCSE results compare?

9.7Attainment 8 score, out of 90
This school9.7
Derby42.2
England46.1

Attainment 8 — average GCSE points across eight subjects, English and maths counted twice; grade 5 in everything scores 50.

DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · 10 pupils in Year 11

10% got grade 5 or above in both English and maths (Derby 39%, England 45%).

Grade 5 — a “strong pass”; grade 4 is a “standard pass”. Progress 8 is not published for 2025: this cohort had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020–21, so there is no baseline.

All GCSE measures10
MeasureThis schoolDerbyEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)9.742.246.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths10%39%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths10%59%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%35%41%
EBacc average point score0.583.724.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort—36%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils—32.134.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils—47.950.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)———
English as an additional language—23%19%
Subjects · 2025

What do pupils study?

28.32%of the Key Stage 3 and GCSE curriculum mapped by the subjects taken here

Mapped — the share of the 2,029 learning outcomes the Department for Education sets for these stages that the subjects taken here cover, weighted by how many pupils take each.

DfE subject entries 2025 · curriculum catalogue by sch.today

Language & Communication15%
Mathematics & Statistics10%
Digital & ICT Skills9%
Green & Sustainability7%
Arts & Humanities6%

Fields of knowledge — twelve fields the curriculum catalogue sorts every learning outcome into; the bars show the GCSE and A level ring.

GCSE subjects8

Entries 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
English Language550%89%—20%—
English Literature440%86%—21%—
Geography440%41%—25%—
Mathematics440%88%—22%—
Art and Design220%7%—24%—
Computer Science220%13%—30%—
Design and Technology220%11%—23%—
Media Studies110%4%—20%—
Fields of knowledge, all stages12
Language & Communication33%
Green & Sustainability24%
Digital & ICT Skills23%
Mathematics & Statistics20%
Natural Sciences20%
Health & Safety18%
Transversal Skills15%
Arts & Humanities15%
Engineering & Manufacturing12%
Law & Public Administration7%
Social & Cultural Skills7%
Business & Administration3%

Ideas pupils meet most, weighted by the share of the cohort taking the subjects that teach them:

fraction 10.0percentage 6.6vocabulary 6.5ratio 5.0particle model 5.0grammar 4.9power 4.6translation 4.6formulae 4.2audience 4.0equation 4.0photosynthesis 4.0change of state 4.0gradient 3.8context 3.7observation 3.6reflection 3.6area 3.6standard english 3.5poetry 3.4measurement 3.4root 3.4purpose 3.2force 3.2

Coverage counts a subject’s outcomes in proportion to the share of the cohort entered for it; Combined Science counts as two thirds of the three separate sciences. Levels follow ISCED 2011 as UNESCO maps it for the UK: Key Stage 3 is ISCED 2; GCSE and A level are both ISCED 3. Methodology: about the data.

Careers

Which jobs use what’s taught here?

12apprenticeship standards closely match the subjects pupils take

A match of what’s taught, not of entry requirements: the standards whose knowledge and skills share the most ideas with the GCSEs and A levels taken here, weighted by how many pupils take each subject.

Level 3 / Level 6 — England’s qualification levels: 3 is A level standard, 4–5 are higher apprenticeships, 6 is a bachelor’s degree.

Skills England apprenticeship standards (Open Government Licence v3.0) · ESCO occupations, © European Union, matched by sch.today · how the match works

Water industry asset maintenance technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses data collection, ratio, graph from Computer Science, Design and Technology, Geography and 5 more · jobs: consumer electronics repair technician, industrial electrician, electrician
Process industry manufacturing technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses graph, pressure, polymer from Design and Technology, Mathematics, Design and Technology and 2 more · jobs: chemical engineering technician, chemical manufacturing quality technician, chemical production manager
Geoscientist (integrated degree)Level 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses conduct field work, data collection, climate change from Geography, Computing, Geography and 1 more · jobs: geologist, geological engineer, exploration geologist
More apprenticeships9
Science manufacturing technician 2023Level 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses graph, pressure, unit conversion from Mathematics, Mathematics, Science · jobs: pharmaceutical engineer, chemical manufacturing quality technician, pharmacy technician
Production assistant - screen and audioLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses spelling, punctuation, grammar from English Literature, Media Studies, English and 1 more · jobs: factory hand, supply chain assistant, management assistant
Data technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · digital · uses mean, integer, data structure from Computer Science, English Language, Geography and 3 more · jobs: data analyst, database administrator, data scientist
Junior visual effects - VFX artist or assistant technical director - ATDLevel 4 (higher) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses data collection, scale, data structure from Art and Design, Computer Science, Computing and 3 more · jobs: 3D modeller, technical director, animation layout artist
Content creatorLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses spelling, punctuation, grammar from English Literature, Media Studies, English and 1 more · jobs: communication manager, online community manager, web content manager
ScientistLevel 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses statistical technique, conclusion, measurement from Geography, Mathematics, Science · jobs: physicist, analytical chemist, geneticist
Water industry network technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses standard form, volume, si unit from Design and Technology, Mathematics, Mathematics and 1 more · jobs: sewerage network operative, product quality inspector, sewerage maintenance technician
Manufacturing engineer (degree)Level 6 degree apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses force, component selection, electrical system from Design and Technology, Science · jobs: maintenance and repair engineer, industrial engineer, production engineer
Storyboard artistLevel 7 degree apprenticeship · creative and design · uses presentation, interpretation, summarising from Art and Design, English Language, Geography and 3 more · jobs: storyboard artist
Admissions

How do you get a place?

Places at special schools are allocated through an Education, Health and Care plan with Derby, not by distance.

  1. Any timeAsk Derby’s SEND team to name the school in the child’s EHC plan; the school is consulted before a place is offered
Derby

Compare with nearby schools

Stayed in education at 16 · Attainment 8 · pupils

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.