Bedale High School, Bedale

Ofsted's report card from its 14 July 2026 inspection grades Bedale High School on 6 areas: 6 strong standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Strong standard. "Pupils achieve well and standards are rising quickly."

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders have driven rapid and secure improvement in attendance by tracking patterns closely, acting early and making school a place pupils want to be."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum that gives pupils the knowledge they need for their next steps."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Leaders have created a caring and ambitious culture where every pupil is known well and supported to succeed."

Leadership and governance - Strong standard. "Leaders have brought clarity, consistency and ambition to the school's work."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders have created a thoughtful and ambitious personal development programme."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue to strengthen attendance for pupils who are disadvantaged to ensure that any gaps in learning and achievement between them and their peers continue to close rapidly".

In 2026, pupils at Bedale High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 47.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.2 in North Yorkshire and 47 across England.

52% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 48% in North Yorkshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 46.1 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.3: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 37.4, against 52.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 17 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.

For September 2026 entry, 83 families put Bedale High School as their first choice and 170 named it as one of their preferences, for 89 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

26 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Bedale High School (as of September 2025): 4% would recommend the school, 0% say their child is happy there and 6% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that pupils behave well (31%); the weakest, that their child is happy at the school (0%).

Of the 101 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 72% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 48% to a further education college, 7% to an apprenticeship and 10% into work.

3.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 136 pupils (24.5%) received SEN support and 32 (5.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Bedale (Wensleydale Railway), about 610 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).

2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bedale School (nw-bound), 130 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 13 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and burglary. That is well above the typical figure around schools in North Yorkshire (9), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Bedale High School issued 168 suspensions, 30 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Bedale High School are Bedale Church of England Primary School (under 0.1 miles) and Leeming St. John's Church of England Primary School (1.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.