Appleton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,207 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.1
Academy sponsor led
Bradford Forster Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 892of 1,050 places
- Free school meals
- 47.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 198
- Ofsted
- Inspected, 11 February 2025Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Bradford Forster Academy has no sixth form. Of the 186 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 24% moved to a sixth form college, 49% to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 32.7 against 46.1 across England and 40.8 in Bradford, with 24% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Art and Design is unusually popular at GCSE: 23% of the year group took it, against 7% of pupils across England.
As an 11–16 school, Bradford Forster 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 | Bradford Forster Academy | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 186 | 6,849 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 82% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 78% | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 5% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 24% | 11% | 13% |
| — further education college | 49% | 39% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 11% | 5% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Bradford Forster Academy | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 32.7 | 40.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 24% | 38% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 42% | 57% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 38% | 42% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.93 | 3.56 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 46% | 36% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 24.6 | 31.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 39.4 | 45.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 28% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 200 | 100% | 89% | 7% | 20% | 41% |
| Mathematics | 197 | 99% | 88% | 7% | 22% | 52% |
| Combined Science | 192 | 97% | 65% | 8% | 9% | 43% |
| English Literature | 188 | 95% | 86% | 8% | 21% | 43% |
| History | 134 | 68% | 41% | 5% | 26% | 26% |
| Geography | 66 | 33% | 41% | 11% | 25% | 32% |
| Religious Studies | 52 | 26% | 31% | 23% | 32% | 42% |
| Business Studies | 51 | 26% | 18% | 4% | 20% | 39% |
| Spanish | 51 | 26% | 19% | 8% | 27% | 47% |
| Art and Design | 46 | 23% | 7% | 7% | 24% | 54% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 44 | 22% | 8% | 0% | 21% | 5% |
| Citizenship Studies | 43 | 22% | 3% | 9% | 19% | 21% |
| Design and Technology | 25 | 13% | 11% | 4% | 23% | 24% |
| French | 21 | 11% | 18% | 19% | 29% | 57% |
| Music | 18 | 9% | 5% | 6% | 33% | 11% |
| Photography | 16 | 8% | 6% | 13% | 19% | 50% |
| Media Studies | 12 | 6% | 4% | 0% | 20% | 8% |
| Polish | 8 | 4% | 1% | 88% | 84% | 100% |
| Biology | 3 | 2% | 23% | — | 45% | — |
| Arabic | 3 | 2% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Urdu | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 48 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 38 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 17 | — | — |
| Tourism | 16 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 11 | — | — |
| Additional Mathematics FSMQ | 1 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 1 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Bradford
Beckfoot Oakbank
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,394 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.3
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
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.