Vale of York Academy

State school · Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formYork, York YO30school website

Four in five Year 11 leavers stay in education, in line with the England rate; most to a further education college (73%).

Where this school leads
81%

of Year 11 leavers stayed in education · York 84% · England 86% · DfE destination measures, pupils who left in 2023

Knowledge sphere of Vale of York Academy: 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): 40%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): 35%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): 43%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): 7%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): 37%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): 47%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): 16%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): 1%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): 6%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): 18%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): 20%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): 45%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
656
Free school meals
24.2%

Ofsted: Short inspection, 5 February 2025: the last full grade still stands · report. Places: the last distance at which places were offered is not on file (it comes from York’s allocation statistics). Pupils: of 905 places. Free school meals: pupils eligible, a measure of family income.

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Vale of York Academy (URN 121662, until 28 November 2016).

After Year 11 · age 16

Where do pupils go at 16?

81%stayed in education after Year 11
This school81%
York84%
England86%

DfE Key Stage 4 destination measures · 108 pupils who left Year 11 in 2023

Vale of York Academy has no sixth form. Of the 108 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 73% to a further education college and 5% 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
MeasureVale of York AcademyYorkEngland
Pupils in the cohort1081,887607,348
Any sustained destination93%92%92%
Stayed in education81%84%86%
— school sixth form7%40%34%
— sixth form college0%—13%
— further education college73%42%37%
— other education1%2%2%
Apprenticeship5%4%3%
Employment6%3%3%
No sustained destination6%6%6%
Destination unknown2%2%3%
GCSE · Year 11 · 2025

How do GCSE results compare?

45.3Attainment 8 score, out of 90
This school45.3
York50.8
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 · 142 pupils in Year 11

20% of pupils here are disadvantaged (England 28%). Disadvantaged pupils here scored 26.7 — below disadvantaged pupils across England (34.9).

51% got grade 5 or above in both English and maths (York 56%, 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
MeasureVale of York AcademyYorkEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)45.350.846.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths51%56%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths70%74%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects20%42%41%
EBacc average point score3.844.544.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort20%19%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils26.736.334.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils50.154.150.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)———
English as an additional language9%9%19%
Subjects · 2025

What do pupils study?

61.01%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

Art and Design stands out at GCSE — 28% of the year group took it, against 7% across England.

Health & Safety48%
Green & Sustainability45%
Natural Sciences43%
Language & Communication40%
Engineering & Manufacturing37%

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

GCSE subjects26

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
Mathematics142100%88%18%22%73%
English Language142100%89%25%20%80%
English Literature14199%86%6%21%67%
Combined Science9668%65%8%9%51%
History8056%41%11%26%49%
Business Studies7855%18%4%20%54%
Chemistry4532%23%20%47%89%
Biology4532%23%20%45%96%
Physics4532%23%22%46%91%
Geography4230%41%17%25%62%
Art and Design4028%7%20%24%78%
Psychology3827%3%11%22%50%
Physical Education3021%11%17%24%67%
French2618%18%15%29%81%
Drama2618%7%23%27%81%
Food Preparation and Nutrition2316%8%22%21%74%
Computer Science2115%13%29%30%52%
Music118%5%27%33%45%
Astronomy43%0%—29%—
Polish21%1%—84%—
Spanish21%19%—27%—
Chinese21%1%—75%—
Turkish11%0%—71%—
German11%5%—33%—
Design and Technology11%11%—23%—
Latin11%1%—74%—
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications2
SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Engineering Studies46——
Health Studies28——
Fields of knowledge, all stages12
Health & Safety57%
Green & Sustainability55%
Natural Sciences54%
Language & Communication53%
Mathematics & Statistics42%
Engineering & Manufacturing42%
Transversal Skills32%
Arts & Humanities26%
Digital & ICT Skills21%
Business & Administration19%
Social & Cultural Skills11%
Law & Public Administration8%

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

fraction 16.3percentage 11.6ratio 10.9gradient 8.8vocabulary 8.7power 7.8reflection 7.6translation 7.5particle model 7.3root 7.0equation 7.0grammar 7.0audience 6.8energy transfer 6.6standard form 6.6area 6.1formulae 6.0impact 6.0percentage change 5.6context 5.5change of state 5.5evidence 5.5presentation 5.4scale 5.2

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 ratio, percentage, unit conversion from Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry and 10 more · jobs: consumer electronics repair technician, industrial electrician, electrician
Process industry manufacturing technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses pressure, conservation of mass, energy change from Chemistry, Design and Technology, Mathematics and 4 more · jobs: chemical engineering technician, chemical manufacturing quality technician, chemical production manager
ScientistLevel 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses conclusion, data interpretation, probability from Biology, Chemistry, Geography and 3 more · jobs: physicist, analytical chemist, geneticist
More apprenticeships9
Science manufacturing technician 2023Level 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses unit conversion, graph, pressure from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and 2 more · jobs: pharmaceutical engineer, chemical manufacturing quality technician, pharmacy technician
Geoscientist (integrated degree)Level 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses data interpretation, climate change, conduct field work from Biology, Chemistry, Geography and 3 more · jobs: geologist, geological engineer, exploration geologist
Battery manufacturing technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses area, unit conversion, volume from Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and 2 more · jobs: battery test technician
Data technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · digital · uses mean, integer, chart from Business Studies, Computer Science, English Language and 6 more · jobs: data analyst, database administrator, data scientist
Non-destructive technologies technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses ratio, measurement, data interpretation from Biology, Design and Technology, Geography and 4 more
Water industry network technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses standard form, unit conversion, volume from Chemistry, Design and Technology, Mathematics and 3 more · jobs: sewerage network operative, product quality inspector, sewerage maintenance technician
Production assistant - screen and audioLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses spelling, punctuation, grammar from English Literature, English, Modern Foreign Language · jobs: factory hand, supply chain assistant, management assistant
Junior visual effects - VFX artist or assistant technical director - ATDLevel 4 (higher) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses scale, data collection, data structure from Art and Design, Chemistry, Computer Science and 5 more · jobs: 3D modeller, technical director, animation layout artist
Storyboard artistLevel 7 degree apprenticeship · creative and design · uses presentation, interpretation, accuracy from Art and Design, Drama, English Language and 6 more · jobs: storyboard artist
Admissions

How do you get a place?

The last distance at which Vale of York Academy offered Year 7 places is not yet on file; it comes from York’s allocation statistics.

  1. 31 OctApply to York in Year 6 for a Year 7 place
  2. 1 MarNational Offer Day
York

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.