Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science, Selby
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Selby. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 26th-highest of the 41 schools in North Yorkshire with published results, and 2,105th of 3,298 across England. It was 98% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to North Yorkshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.4, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.2 in North Yorkshire and 47 across England.
38% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 48% in North Yorkshire and 47% in England.
That is up from 42.1 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.19: 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 32.8, against 47.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.3 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.
Getting a place at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science
For September 2026 entry, 210 families put Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science as their first choice and 399 named it as one of their preferences, for 228 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science are Brayton Academy (0.5 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 50); and Barlby High School (2.2 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 37.7).
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 2 schools.
Where pupils go next
Of the 231 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 85% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 80% to a further education college, 6% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.
Who goes there
12.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Selby Rail Station, about 1000 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is High School (adjacent), 100 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 208 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in North Yorkshire (9), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science issued 414 suspensions, 35.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science are Selby Community Primary School (0.3 miles); Selby Abbey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School (0.4 miles); Selby, Longman's Hill Community Primary School (0.5 miles); and St Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Selby Community Primary SchoolSelby Abbey Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolSelby, Longman's Hill Community Primary SchoolSt Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 3 years agoThis judgement is from November 2013, 12 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its November 2013 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
28.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.05 to -0.19 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 46.7 to 43.4 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 52% to 38% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 43.4 | 37.8% |
| Disadvantaged(56) | - | 32.8 | 26.8% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(161) | - | 47.1 | 41.6% |
| Boys(93) | - | 41.2 | 34.4% |
| Girls(124) | - | 45.1 | 40.3% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(38) | - | 49.4 | 42.1% |
| Non mobile(200) | - | 44.1 | 38.5% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 6 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 231 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
3
Permanent exclusions
0.26%
Exclusion rate
414
Suspensions
35.66%
Suspension rate
128 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,161 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 2 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
You apply to the council where you live. Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science is in North Yorkshire; for families living there:
Apply to North Yorkshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 22
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 22 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 19 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in North Yorkshire is 3 (the median across 382 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science
Will you get a place at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from North Yorkshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in North Yorkshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
98%
Near capacity
1,156 pupils
1,185 places
29 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Selby
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Selby
Across North Yorkshire council
Places available
7,086
Applications
5,586
Got 1st preference
91.9%
Got preferred school
98.8%
All secondary applications across North Yorkshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
144
SEN Support
54
EHC Plans
16.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,176
Total Pupils
577
Boys
599
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
80
Teachers
14.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,446
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,092
Per pupil
£8704k
Total funding
£321k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
9.7%
Overall absence
26.7%
Persistent absence
1,192
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science
Questions parents ask about Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science
What are GCSE results like at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science achieved an Attainment 8 score of 43.4. 38% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science's Ofsted rating?
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
No fixed boundary. When Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science is oversubscribed, North Yorkshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
Classes at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science average 21 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science has around 1176 pupils on roll. 28% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
9.7% of sessions were missed at Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science in 2024/25. 26.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
Apply through North Yorkshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 22 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 19 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in North Yorkshire is 3 (the median across 382 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science?
Selby High School Specialist School for the Arts and Science is at Leeds Road, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 4HT.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)