Beckfoot Oakbank
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,394 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.3
Academy sponsor led
Appleton Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,207of 1,378 places
- Free school meals
- 50.8%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 163
- Ofsted
- Report card, 16 June 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Needs attentionAchievement Needs attentionAttendance and behaviour Expected standardPersonal development and wellbeing Expected standardInclusion Expected standardLeadership and governance Needs attentionPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Appleton Academy (URN 135865, until 7 September 2017).
What the data says
Appleton Academy has no sixth form. Of the 159 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 9% moved to a sixth form college, 55% to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 35.1 against 46.1 across England and 40.8 in Bradford, with 27% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in Spanish and French add up to 10% of the year group, and 15% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
As an 11–16 school, Appleton Academy is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
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 | Appleton Academy | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 159 | 6,849 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 86% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 82% | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 18% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 9% | 11% | 13% |
| — further education college | 55% | 39% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 6% | 5% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Appleton Academy | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 35.1 | 40.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 38% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 42% | 57% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 15% | 42% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.84 | 3.56 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 53% | 36% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.4 | 31.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 41.4 | 45.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 12% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 159 | 98% | 88% | 11% | 22% | 54% |
| English Language | 158 | 97% | 89% | 8% | 20% | 46% |
| English Literature | 152 | 93% | 86% | 9% | 21% | 50% |
| Combined Science | 150 | 92% | 65% | 5% | 9% | 38% |
| Geography | 73 | 45% | 41% | 5% | 25% | 37% |
| History | 70 | 43% | 41% | 7% | 26% | 39% |
| Art and Design | 27 | 17% | 7% | 11% | 24% | 89% |
| Spanish | 15 | 9% | 19% | 20% | 27% | 67% |
| Photography | 12 | 7% | 6% | 17% | 19% | 58% |
| Polish | 10 | 6% | 1% | 80% | 84% | 80% |
| French | 1 | 1% | 18% | — | 29% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 43 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 42 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 40 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 36 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 32 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 22 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 21 | — | — |
| Music Technology (Electronic) | 1 | — | — |
| Personal Health | 1 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 1 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Bradford
Beckfoot School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,592 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.0
Beckfoot Thornton
Academy sponsor led · 1,243 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.2
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.