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 close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Doncaster at a glance
How Doncaster'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.
98 mainstream schools in Doncaster, best first
Results well above the England average.
13 first choices, 13 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
31 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1193%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
57 first choices, 57 offers made
Met the standard at 1178%
England 62%
20 mainstream schools in Doncaster, best first
Results above the England average.
305 first choices, 242 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1652.9
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
224 first choices, 236 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1653.3
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
407 first choices, 301 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.6
England 46.2
69 in Doncaster, highest Ofsted grade first
Doncaster, DN4 5JB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Doncaster, DN12 1PL · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Mexborough, S64 0BE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
20 in Doncaster, by the school's Eduscope score
Results close to the England average.
407 first choices, 301 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.6
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
239 first choices, 231 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.8
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1649.1
England 46.2
18 in Doncaster. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Doncaster, DN2 6HQ · 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.
Doncaster, DN5 7UB · Special · All-through · Ages 5 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Doncaster, DN3 2EW · All-through · Ages 5 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
8 in Doncaster. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Dn7 5gh · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Doncaster, DN4 8QN · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Doncaster, DN4 8QN · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 16
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.
Doncaster is a metropolitan borough in Yorkshire and the Humber with 98 mainstream primary schools and 20 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Doncaster, Adwick le Street and Dunscroft and Hatfield. 89.9% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Doncaster council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
96.5%got their first-choice primary school in Doncaster in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 16 of 151 councils. 98.8% got one of their top three.1.3% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
89.9%got their first-choice secondary school in Doncaster in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 47 of 151 councils. 97.4% got one of their top three.3.4% 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.
16 of 56 primary appeals heard in Doncaster succeeded in 2025. 22 of 154 secondary appeals heard in Doncaster succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Doncaster school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
9 Outstanding, 39 Good, 1 need to improve.
69nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 63% met the standard at 11.
115schools
Ages 11 to 16
15 Good, 2 need to improve. 49% got grade 5 in English and maths.
37schools
All 7 inspected are Good or better. About 8 pupils per teacher.
18schools
Here's how Doncaster'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 Doncaster average, 47.
Average primary score
40Doncaster 47
Average primary score
32Doncaster 47
Average primary score
58Doncaster 47
Average primary score
55Doncaster 47
Average primary score
57Doncaster 47
Average primary score
47Doncaster 47
Average primary score
40Doncaster 47
Average primary score
72Doncaster 47
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.
DoncasterEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 63 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
15 of the 17 with a grade.
88%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
63%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
49%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
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 90 schools that have one.
98%
Good or Outstanding
Doncaster 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 | Doncaster | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 98% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 63% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.4 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.9:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,311 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 49% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 19% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 16% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 30% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 371, ONS code E08000017.
Doncaster has 211 schools and nurseries across 14 towns and villages, the biggest being Doncaster, Adwick le Street, Dunscroft and Hatfield and Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe.
There are 2% more pupils than in 2018.
29% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Doncaster's state schools each January.
Up 2% 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.
Doncaster29%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Doncaster has 211 schools, including 115 primary schools, 37 secondary schools, 69 nurseries, 8 independent schools, 18 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Doncaster on Eduscope are Arksey Primary School, Southfield Primary, Bentley High Street 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.
98% of inspected schools in Doncaster hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 4 schools rated Outstanding and 84 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Doncaster, 63% 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 Doncaster is 18.9:1. 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 Doncaster is 18.3%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 48,340 pupils enrolled across schools in Doncaster, with 27,993 in primary and 20,347 in secondary. 29.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 8 independent schools in Doncaster. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Doncaster on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 211 schools in Doncaster 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.
