Appleton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,207 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.1
Academy sponsor led
Dixons Cottingley Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 861of 900 places
- Free school meals
- 38.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 171
- Ofsted
- Good, 15 November 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Samuel Lister Academy (URN 137576, until 30 July 2018).
What the data says
Dixons Cottingley Academy has no sixth form. Of the 169 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 12% moved to a sixth form college, 35% to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Statistics is unusually popular at GCSE: 98% of the year group took it, against 5% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 46.7 against 46.1 across England and 40.8 in Bradford, with 47% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Nearly everyone studies a modern language to GCSE (French, Spanish entries add up to 87% of the cohort), which is rare outside selective and independent schools.
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 | Dixons Cottingley Academy | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 169 | 6,849 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 91% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 89% | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 41% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 12% | 11% | 13% |
| — further education college | 35% | 39% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 5% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 5% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Dixons Cottingley Academy | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 46.7 | 40.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 38% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 57% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 87% | 42% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.21 | 3.56 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 30% | 36% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 41.1 | 31.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 49.0 | 45.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 18% | 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 | 171 | 100% | 89% | 25% | 20% | 66% |
| Mathematics | 171 | 100% | 88% | 20% | 22% | 68% |
| English Literature | 169 | 99% | 86% | 25% | 21% | 70% |
| Religious Studies | 168 | 98% | 31% | 30% | 32% | 73% |
| Statistics | 167 | 98% | 5% | 5% | 20% | 54% |
| Combined Science | 154 | 90% | 65% | 16% | 9% | 55% |
| French | 147 | 86% | 18% | 13% | 29% | 50% |
| History | 132 | 77% | 41% | 18% | 26% | 43% |
| Geography | 36 | 21% | 41% | 8% | 25% | 28% |
| Biology | 16 | 9% | 23% | 88% | 45% | 88% |
| Physics | 14 | 8% | 23% | 64% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 14 | 8% | 23% | 93% | 47% | 100% |
| Urdu | 4 | 2% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
| Spanish | 2 | 1% | 19% | — | 27% | — |
| Fine Art | 1 | 1% | 9% | — | 28% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art and Design | 44 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 28 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 27 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 27 | — | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | 23 | — | — |
| Tourism | 12 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 6 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 4 | — | — |
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.