Schools in Barnsley
95 schools in the Barnsley local authority.
Schools
95
Open schools
Pupils
34,885
2025–26 census
Good or better
96%
81 of 84 graded
Academic Performance
5.0
out of 10 · 91 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 5 6%
- Good
- 76 90%
- Requires improvement
- 2 2%
- Inadequate
- 1 1%
6 inspected since 2024, no overall grade4 superseded by a report card5 not judged1 in a category of concern
5.0
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 91 of 95 schools that can be scored
Pupils
34,885
pupils on roll
Boys 51%49% Girls
Roll from 93 of 95 schools (34,885 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Ethnicity
White
91%Asian
1%Black
3%Mixed
3%Chinese
<1%Any other group
<1%Unclassified
<1%Ethnicity from 90 of 95 schools (34,643 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 29.9%
- First language not English
- 8.6%
- Young carers
- <1%
10,347 of 34,643 pupils · 90 of 95 schools
2,985 of 34,643 pupils · 90 of 95 schools
112 of 34,643 pupils · 90 of 95 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 77
- Secondary
- 11
- Special
- 3
- PRU
- 1
- Not recorded
- 3
Top primary schools in Barnsley
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Hunningley Primary AcademyBarnsley · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 2.Gawber Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 3.The Forest AcademyBarnsley · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 4.Birdwell Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.7/10Good
- 5.Mapplewell Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.7/10Good
- 6.St Mary's Church of England Primary School, BarnsleyBarnsley · Primary8.6/10Good
- 7.Summerfields Primary AcademyBarnsley · Primary8.5/10Good
- 8.Silkstone Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.3/10Good
- 9.Thurgoland Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.3/10Good
- 10.Hoyland Common Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.2/10Good
- 11.Laithes Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.1/10Good
- 12.Springvale Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.1/10Good
- 13.Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.0/10Good
- 14.Silkstone Common Junior and Infant SchoolBarnsley · Primary8.0/10Good
- 15.Birkwood Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary7.8/10
- 16.Milefield Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary7.8/10Good
- 17.Kexborough Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary7.7/10Good
- 18.Cawthorne Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolBarnsley · Primary7.6/10Good
- 19.Parkside Primary AcademyBarnsley · Primary7.4/10Good
- 20.Upperwood AcademyBarnsley · Primary7.3/10Good
Top secondary schools in Barnsley
The highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Trinity Academy St. EdwardsBarnsley · Secondary9.4/10Outstanding
- 2.Darton AcademyBarnsley · Secondary8.2/10Good
- 3.Penistone Grammar SchoolBarnsley · Secondary8.2/10Good
- 4.Horizon Community CollegeBarnsley · Secondary7.3/10Good
- 5.Kirk Balk AcademyBarnsley · Secondary6.7/10Good
- 6.Barnsley AcademyBarnsley · Secondary5.9/10Good
- 7.Outwood Academy ShaftonBarnsley · Secondary3.7/10
- 8.Netherwood AcademyBarnsley · Secondary3.5/10Good
- 9.Outwood Academy CarltonBarnsley · Secondary3.1/10Good
- 10.Astrea Academy DearneBarnsley · Secondary2.8/10Good
- 11.Holy Trinity Catholic and Church of England SchoolBarnsley · Secondary1.7/10
Browse all 95 schools in Barnsley — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in Barnsley
- How many schools are there in Barnsley?
- Barnsley has 95 open schools — 77 primary, 11 secondary, 3 special, teaching 34,885 pupils in total.
- How many schools in Barnsley are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 81 of the 84 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 96% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 5 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 95: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in Barnsley?
- 5.0 out of 10, averaged across the 91 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some Barnsley schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 11 schools in Barnsley currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does Barnsley local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Barnsley covers 95 schools and sits in the Yorkshire and The Humber region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in Barnsley are eligible for free school meals?
- 29.9% — 10,347 of 34,643 pupils at the 90 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the Yorkshire and The Humber region.