Appleton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,207 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.1
Academy sponsor led
Beckfoot Thornton
- Pupils on roll
- 1,243of 1,300 places
- Free school meals
- 39.7%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 259
- Ofsted
- Good, 13 September 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Thornton Grammar School (URN 107442, until 16 July 2016).
What the data says
Beckfoot Thornton has no sixth form. Of the 254 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 22% moved to a sixth form college, 51% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
French is unusually popular at GCSE: 52% of the year group took it, against 18% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 40.2 against 46.1 across England and 40.8 in Bradford, with 35% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
10% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
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 Bradford and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Beckfoot Thornton | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 254 | 6,849 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 86% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 83% | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 11% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 22% | 11% | 13% |
| — further education college | 51% | 39% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 10% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 5% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Beckfoot Thornton | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 40.2 | 40.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 38% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 57% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 52% | 42% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.76 | 3.56 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 36% | 36% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 32.5 | 31.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 44.4 | 45.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 10% | 34% | 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.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 256 | 99% | 89% | 13% | 20% | 59% |
| Mathematics | 255 | 98% | 88% | 16% | 22% | 60% |
| English Literature | 247 | 95% | 86% | 11% | 21% | 70% |
| Combined Science | 231 | 89% | 65% | 11% | 9% | 58% |
| History | 136 | 53% | 41% | 23% | 26% | 60% |
| French | 134 | 52% | 18% | 8% | 29% | 51% |
| Geography | 113 | 44% | 41% | 11% | 25% | 48% |
| Art and Design | 42 | 16% | 7% | 10% | 24% | 71% |
| Business Studies | 30 | 12% | 18% | 7% | 20% | 60% |
| Computer Science | 23 | 9% | 13% | 43% | 30% | 65% |
| Design and Technology | 21 | 8% | 11% | 14% | 23% | 52% |
| Biology | 20 | 8% | 23% | 45% | 45% | 75% |
| Physics | 15 | 6% | 23% | 47% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 15 | 6% | 23% | 53% | 47% | 100% |
| Polish | 3 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Religious Studies | 1 | 0% | 31% | — | 32% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 58 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 38 | — | — |
| Retailing | 36 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 31 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 27 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 22 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Bradford
Beckfoot Oakbank
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,394 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.3
Beckfoot School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,592 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.0
Beckfoot Upper Heaton
Academy sponsor led · 679 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.3
Belle Vue Girls' Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 910 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.2
Bingley Grammar School
Voluntary aided school · sixth form · 1,985 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.5
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.