Appleton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,207 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.1
Academy sponsor led
The Holy Family Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 630of 992 places
- Free school meals
- 46.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 141
- Ofsted
- Inspected, 2 April 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: The Holy Family Catholic School (URN 107428, until 1 September 2022).
What the data says
The Holy Family Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy has no sixth form. Of the 140 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 1% moved to a sixth form college, 55% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 28.8 against 46.1 across England and 40.8 in Bradford, with 11% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Religious Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 96% of the year group took it, against 31% of pupils across England.
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in Spanish and French add up to 19% of the year group, and 15% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
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 | This school | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 140 | 6,849 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 86% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 84% | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 28% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 1% | 11% | 13% |
| — further education college | 55% | 39% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 8% | 5% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Bradford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 28.8 | 40.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 11% | 38% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 32% | 57% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 15% | 42% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.30 | 3.56 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 28% | 36% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 20.0 | 31.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 32.4 | 45.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 41% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 138 | 98% | 88% | 1% | 22% | 36% |
| English Language | 138 | 98% | 89% | 3% | 20% | 41% |
| English Literature | 138 | 98% | 86% | 5% | 21% | 50% |
| Combined Science | 136 | 96% | 65% | 2% | 9% | 27% |
| Religious Studies | 135 | 96% | 31% | 5% | 32% | 41% |
| Business Studies | 50 | 35% | 18% | 2% | 20% | 18% |
| Geography | 44 | 31% | 41% | 0% | 25% | 23% |
| History | 43 | 30% | 41% | 5% | 26% | 30% |
| Psychology | 42 | 30% | 3% | 12% | 22% | 48% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 19 | 13% | 8% | 0% | 21% | 32% |
| Fine Art | 19 | 13% | 9% | 0% | 28% | 5% |
| Spanish | 16 | 11% | 19% | 25% | 27% | 75% |
| French | 11 | 8% | 18% | 9% | 29% | 73% |
| Music | 8 | 6% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 13% |
| Drama | 8 | 6% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 13% |
| Film Studies | 4 | 3% | 1% | — | 20% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Design and Technology | 1 | 1% | 11% | — | 23% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 66 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 48 | — | — |
| Personal Health | 1 | — | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 12 | — | 23% |
| History | 12 | — | 13% |
| Sociology | 11 | — | 13% |
| English Literature | 9 | — | 11% |
| Mathematics | — | — | 31% |
| Physics | — | — | 12% |
| Polish | — | — | 0% |
| Chemistry | — | — | 17% |
| Biology | — | — | 20% |
| Fine Art | — | — | 3% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 14 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 7 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | 6 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
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.