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. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Sheffield at a glance
How Sheffield'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.
132 mainstream schools in Sheffield, best first
Results well above the England average.
69 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1192%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
35 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
64 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1184%
England 62%
27 mainstream schools in Sheffield, best first
Results well above the England average.
385 first choices, 194 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1666.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
337 first choices, 267 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1659.1
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
253 first choices, 258 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.7
England 46.2
129 in Sheffield, highest Ofsted grade first
Sheffield, S8 0LB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Sheffield, S10 2DN · State · Nursery · Ages 3 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sheffield, S10 5FQ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
26 in Sheffield, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
385 first choices, 194 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1666.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
337 first choices, 267 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1659.1
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
253 first choices, 258 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.7
England 46.2
16 in Sheffield. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Sheffield, S2 3PX · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sheffield, S17 3PT · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sheffield, S2 1PL · Special · Primary · Ages 3 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
8 in Sheffield. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Sheffield, S2 3PX · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
South Yorkshire, S9 5FP · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 17 · Girls
Independent school. Results below the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1641.6
England 46.2
Sheffield, S3 7PS · Independent · All-through · Ages 4 to 16
Independent school. Results well above the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1654.7
England 46.2
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.
Sheffield is a metropolitan borough in Yorkshire and the Humber with 132 mainstream primary schools and 27 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Chapeltown and High Green, Ecclesfield and Grenoside and Stocksbridge. 88.7% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Sheffield council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: 0114 273 5766
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
95.1%got their first-choice primary school in Sheffield in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 31 of 151 councils. 98.9% got one of their top three.1.6% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
88.7%got their first-choice secondary school in Sheffield in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 53 of 151 councils. 96.6% 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.
38 of 127 primary appeals heard in Sheffield succeeded in 2025. 73 of 249 secondary appeals heard in Sheffield succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | Breaks up 23 Oct, back 2 Nov | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | Breaks up 12 Feb, back 22 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | Breaks up 28 May, back 7 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 Sheffield school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 110 inspected are Good or better.
129nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
97% Good or better. 59% met the standard at 11.
151schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 12 inspected are Good or better. 46% got grade 5 in English and maths.
47schools
1 Outstanding, 9 Good, 2 need to improve. About 6 pupils per teacher.
16schools
Here's how Sheffield'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 Sheffield average, 46.
Average primary score
53Sheffield 46
Average primary score
41Sheffield 46
Average primary score
48Sheffield 46
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.
SheffieldEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 97 primaries with one.
97%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
12 of the 12 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
59%
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.
21%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
37%
Latest graded inspection for the 126 schools that have one.
96%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Sheffield 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 | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 96% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 59% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 44.7 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 21% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.3:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,780 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 89% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 56% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 21% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 25% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 35% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 373, ONS code E08000019.
Sheffield has 316 schools and nurseries across 3 towns and villages, the biggest being Chapeltown and High Green, Ecclesfield and Grenoside and Stocksbridge.
There are 6% more pupils than in 2018.
37% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Sheffield's state schools each January.
Up 6% 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.
Sheffield37%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Sheffield has 316 schools, including 151 primary schools, 47 secondary schools, 129 nurseries, 8 independent schools, 16 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Sheffield on Eduscope are Totley Primary School, Loxley Primary School, Oughtibridge 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 Sheffield hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 10 schools rated Outstanding and 111 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Sheffield, 59% 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 Sheffield is 18.3:1. 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 Sheffield is 20.8%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 84,517 pupils enrolled across schools in Sheffield, with 46,072 in primary and 37,989 in secondary. 35.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 8 independent schools in Sheffield. 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 Sheffield 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 316 schools in Sheffield 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.
