Airedale Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,008 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.8
Foundation special school
Highfield School
- Pupils on roll
- 210of 210 places
- Free school meals
- 55.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 24
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 23 November 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Of the 33 pupils who finished Year 11 at Highfield School in 2023, 0% stayed on in Highfield School’s own sixth form (Wakefield average 12%), 18% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
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 Wakefield and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Highfield School | Wakefield | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 33 | 3,844 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 97% | 89% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 97% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 12% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 28% | 13% |
| — further education college | 18% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 79% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 4% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 3% | 8% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
No published Key Stage 4 results for this school.
Other secondary schools in Wakefield
Carleton High School
Academy converter · 1,026 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.5
Castleford Academy
Academy converter · 1,480 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.5
Crofton Academy
Academy converter · 1,045 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.5
De Lacy Academy
Academy converter · 853 pupils
70% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.6
Horbury Academy
Academy converter · 1,070 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.7
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.