A council (local authority) in Yorkshire and the Humber
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Barnsley at a glance
How Barnsley's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
77 mainstream schools in Barnsley, best first
Results well above the England average.
60 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
30 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1185%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
51 first choices, 52 offers made
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
10 mainstream schools in Barnsley, best first
Results above the England average.
253 first choices, 174 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1653.4
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
311 first choices, 309 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.4
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
217 first choices, 230 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.7
England 46.2
65 in Barnsley, highest Ofsted grade first
Barnsley, S70 5XB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Sheffield, S36 6AR · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Barnsley, S75 4HB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
4 in Barnsley, by the school's Eduscope score
Results above the England average.
311 first choices, 309 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.4
England 46.2
Barnsley, S70 6RG · Academy · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Barnsley, S63 0BG · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
6 in Barnsley. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Barnsley, S70 6RG · Academy · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
South Yorkshire, S75 3DH · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Barnsley, S71 2AY · Academy · All-through · Ages 5 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
3 in Barnsley. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
South Yorkshire, S75 3DH · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Barnsley, S63 0BG · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Barnsley, S71 3NA · Independent · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in Yorkshire and the Humber with 77 mainstream primary schools and 10 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Barnsley, Hoyland and Cudworth and Shafton. 91.0% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Barnsley council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions@barnsley.gov.uk · 01226 773677
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
95.7%got their first-choice primary school in Barnsley in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 23 of 151 councils. 99.2% got one of their top three.3.4% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
91.0%got their first-choice secondary school in Barnsley in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 40 of 151 councils. 98.2% got one of their top three.5.7% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
9 of 43 primary appeals heard in Barnsley succeeded in 2025. 22 of 78 secondary appeals heard in Barnsley succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Barnsley school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 50 inspected are Good or better.
65nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
95% Good or better. 65% met the standard at 11.
84schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 9 inspected are Good or better. 46% got grade 5 in English and maths.
17schools
All 4 inspected are Good or better. About 10 pupils per teacher.
6schools
Here's how Barnsley's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Barnsley average, 51.
Average primary score
56Barnsley 51
Average primary score
61Barnsley 51
Average primary score
34Barnsley 51
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
BarnsleyEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 64 primaries with one.
95%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
9 of the 9 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
65%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
46%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
29%
Latest graded inspection for the 78 schools that have one.
96%
Good or Outstanding
Barnsley in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Barnsley | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 96% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 65% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 43.1 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 19% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 19.9:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,653 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 69% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 20% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 9% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 30% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 370, ONS code E08000016.
Barnsley has 160 schools and nurseries across 11 towns and villages, the biggest being Barnsley, Hoyland, Cudworth and Shafton and Darton.
There are 3% more pupils than in 2018.
29% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Barnsley's state schools each January.
Up 3% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Barnsley29%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Barnsley has 160 schools, including 84 primary schools, 17 secondary schools, 65 nurseries, 3 independent schools, 6 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Barnsley on Eduscope are Gawber Primary School, Trinity Academy St. Edwards, Birdwell Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
96% of inspected schools in Barnsley hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 6 schools rated Outstanding and 69 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Barnsley, 65% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Barnsley is 19.9:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Barnsley is 18.6%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 34,865 pupils enrolled across schools in Barnsley, with 20,410 in primary and 14,455 in secondary. 29.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 3 independent schools in Barnsley, all special schools for children with special educational needs, where councils usually pay the fees. You can compare them on Eduscope, including inspection reports where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 160 schools in Barnsley by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
