Ilkley Grammar School

About Ilkley Grammar School

A Moorlands Learning Trust Academy

Together we achieve our Personal Best

Ilkley Grammar School is an ‘Outstanding’ non-selective academy which is widely recognised as one of the most successful and high performing state schools in the north of England. With an excellent reputation and long-established tradition of academic excellence, including Oxbridge success, sporting and cultural achievements and service to our community, we pride ourselves on the quality of education, care and support which we provide and are committed to all students achieving their Personal Best in a safe and inclusive environment.

As the founding school of Moorlands Learning Trust, Ilkley Grammar School consistently achieves excellent examination results at both GCSE and A Level with student progress “well above average” and in the top 10-20% of all state schools nationally. As a result, students go on to take up a range of  fantastic university, apprenticeship and employment opportunities. High academic standards and strong student progress bear testimony to the hard work and commitment of our students, the high calibre of specialist teaching and a positive, safe and inclusive culture built on our 6 Personal Best Values: Respect, Kindness, Responsibility, Courage, Resilience and Pride.  These values underpin our work as a school, our vision to provide a world-class, inclusive education and are the basis of warm and respectful relationships between students and staff.

Our commitment to Personal Best is not limited to academic standards. In line with our Latin motto, which forms part of our whole school vision, we are committed to all students “growing in wisdom and stature.” Therefore, alongside academic achievement, we value and celebrate personal enrichment and creativity and have an exceptional Personal Development curriculum to enrich and extend the learning experience of every student.  This includes an extensive extra-curricular programme involving sport, culture, the creative and visual arts, competitive experiences at regional and national level, opportunities for discovery and adventure in the UK and abroad, support for mental health and wellbeing, as well as wide ranging opportunities for leadership to enable students to develop the skills, knowledge and qualities to be leaders of the future.

Founded in 1607, Ilkley Grammar School is located on the edge of Ilkley Moor in the beautiful Wharfe Valley, with the town judged by The Sunday Times as the best place to live in the country in 2022. It continues to feature as one of the best places to live and was recently ranked in the top 5 prettiest towns in England. We are proud to serve our community and the catchment areas of Ilkley, Addingham, Ben Rhydding, Burley in Wharfedale and Menston. With a school roll of over 2150 students, including almost 600 in Post-16, we are consistently over-subscribed in all years and this is a reflection of the school’s popularity and reputation for providing exceptional, inclusive education.

Our Ofsted inspection of December 2024 confirmed us as an ‘Outstanding’ school in all areas with the Inspection Team concluding that “Ilkley Grammar School is an amazing school”, where “every pupil gets a chance to shine”. While the full report is available online, highlights include:

· An extensive personal development offer ensures pupils achieve their personal best. School sports, trips and a vast range of clubs, including Model United Nations, creative writing and musical theatre, enable pupils to flourish.

· Pupils enjoy their lessons and behave in a way that enables deep, meaningful classroom learning.

· Staff are passionate about their subjects, and the impact of this is seen in the classroom.

· Whether pupils excel, or need extra help, this school supports them to fulfil their potential.

· The school offers a rich curriculum that ensures all students achieve well - there is ambition for all.

· Pupils achieve excellent, sustained outcomes over time. This is partly due to the holistic approach to the curriculum and bespoke, individualised, pastoral care.

· The school is fully inclusive. Staff believe every pupil can succeed, no matter their background or any challenge they may face.

· The school is a calm environment where pupils behave exceptionally well.

· Staff are proactive in supporting families to remove barriers, offering support such as transport to school, wraparound care and mental health support.

· Pupils are knowledgeable about different beliefs and cultures as a result of the curriculum and well-designed activities.

· The school also offers well-considered career support, including a ‘Future Fest’ career fair. Extensive links with industry and higher education help the pupils to make informed decisions.

·  School leaders have a clear and ambitious vision, which is instrumental in helping all pupils succeed.

Whilst we are not a school that is driven by Ofsted, we are delighted with such positive external validation of the quality of provision we offer.

Ilkley Grammar School has high aspirations for every child, and we endeavour to inspire ambition for all. We work hard to develop and innovate our learning and teaching experiences, for example through our ‘iPads for learning’ initiative, and put inspirational and inclusive learning at the heart of all we do. We continually advance our curriculum to be responsive to student need and skills for life and work in a global twenty first century and invest in the professional development of our staff to keep ourselves at the cutting edge of educational development. In short, we want everyone at Ilkley Grammar School to be ambitious and to always aim high.

We deeply care for our staff as well as our students and take their wellbeing seriously, engaging regularly and meaningfully with colleagues at all levels. We are sensitive about the importance of managing workload, and the school’s commitment to evidence-informed practices and ‘best bets’ enables teachers and leaders to invest time and effort in practices proven to have the most impact on student learning. In addition, all staff have access to an employee benefits package through Vivup, and we have an embedded programme of extra-curricular, voluntary ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ sessions for staff to access across the school year. The school closes earlier for students on Wednesdays in order to accommodate these sessions as well as to facilitate whole school and departmental staff CPD.

Despite our considerable success, we are not complacent and our commitment to Personal Best means that we continue to drive school improvement in order to further raise standards and support our journey to being an exceptional, world-class school.