Celebrating strong education outcomes across all key stages at Barnsley schools

Our borough has achieved significant improvements in education outcomes for 2024-25 academic year. From early years to post-16, pupils have surpassed regional and national averages, reflecting the dedication of Barnsley’s children and young people, settings, schools and families.

These outcomes highlight our commitment to raising standards, supporting every child to succeed, and ensuring that inclusive, high-quality education remains at the heart of the community’s ambitions. Here are some of the highlight figures:

• Primary schools across the borough maintained great results for early reading and for the third year running Barnsley has ranked in the top three local authorities nationally for Year 1 phonics screening.
• The percentage of pupils in Barnsley achieving full marks in Multiplication Tables Check was 50%, substantial above the national and regional averages of 37%.
• By the end of Key Stage 2, Barnsley pupils were outperforming the national average in reading, writing, and mathematics. Barnsley ranked first for Maths and second for combined Reading, Writing and Maths among statistical neighbours.
• At Key Stage 4 (GCSEs), outcomes have improved across all key measures, with Barnsley showing significant progress compared to national, regional, and statistical neighbours.
• 95.91% of Barnsley pupils achieved at least two A-levels, which is significantly above regional 81.87% and national - 85.2%. The borough has ranked first out of statistical neighbours for this measure.

We have also seen a significant progress in supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). At Key Stage 2, they have achieved notable improvements across all subjects and are now matching national averages and exceeding them in Maths. Additionally, 100% of SEND pupils achieved at least two A-levels at Key Stage 5.

Councillor Ashley Peace, Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services, said: “These results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our pupils, teachers, setting and school staff and leaders. Barnsley has consistently demonstrated that with the right support and collaborative approach through the Barnsley Schools Alliance, we can achieve outstanding outcomes for all children, regardless of background.

“Our SEND improvements are particularly encouraging, showing that targeted support and inclusive practices make a real difference. Our focus now is on sustaining this progress, closing gaps for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, and ensuring every young person leaves education with the skills and confidence to thrive in life.”

Looking ahead, we will continue to strengthen our sector-led education improvement strategy by working closely with settings, schools, academy leaders, and key partners.

The refreshed Barnsley Schools Alliance Education Improvement Strategy (2025-28) will focus on raising attainment for all pupils, particularly those with SEND and in early years, embedding effective oracy and reading programmes, and supporting greater depth in writing and mathematics.