Temple Moor High School Review 2026: An oversubscribed East Leeds secondary with a fast-growing sixth form

A lot of schools talk about raising aspirations; Temple Moor backs it up with a structured school day, a deliberately planned personal development programme, and a sixth form that has been expanded to meet demand. The headline academic picture at GCSE is steady rather than spectacular, with outcomes sitting broadly in line with the middle of schools in England, while Progress 8 suggests students tend to do better than their starting points would predict.

Leadership is stable. Matthew West is the Principal, and official records show him in post as headteacher or principal from April 2016.

The school is part of Red Kite Learning Trust and operates as a mainstream, open-access secondary with additional specialist inclusion partnership work.

Temple Moor describes itself as an inclusive school serving its local community, and that theme runs through how the day is organised and how support is structured for different learners. There is a clear focus on routines and consistency, including a behaviour system that is intended to be applied in the same way across subjects and year groups. In practice, that tends to matter most in large secondary schools where students can otherwise experience mixed messages depending on which classroom they are in.

The March 2023 Ofsted inspection confirmed that the school remains Good, and that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

A distinctive feature is the way inclusion is framed as mainstream first, with targeted alternative pathways for the students who need something different at a particular moment. The school’s on-site alternative provision is called ELECT, and it is referenced in formal inspection documentation as a support route for students at risk of exclusion or presenting sustained behavioural difficulty. That matters for families because it indicates the school is trying to keep students connected to education on site, rather than relying solely on external placements.

Temple Moor also works in partnership with specialist provision. The inspection report references collaboration with John Jamieson School for pupils with complex needs, while the school’s own SEND information describes work alongside the East Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre, including places for students with complex needs. For families with SEND considerations, this points to a school that is used to managing a wide range of needs within a mainstream setting, while also maintaining specialist routes when appropriate.

For GCSE outcomes, Temple Moor is ranked 1,585th in England and 16th in Leeds (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This reflects solid performance, in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

At GCSE level, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 46.3. Progress 8 is 0.28, which indicates students tend to make above-average progress compared with others nationally who had similar prior attainment. EBacc indicators are mixed: the average EBacc APS is 4.24, and 23.3% achieved grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure reported here. These figures suggest a school that is delivering well in many areas, with the strongest story coming from progress rather than top-end outcomes.

Sixth form results are more challenging. Temple Moor is ranked 1,842nd in England and 16th in Leeds for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), placing it below the England average overall on this measure. The grade profile reported is 2.35% A*, 8.45% A, and 39.44% A* to B. Compared with England averages (23.6% A* to A and 47.2% A* to B), that gap is material.

The important practical implication is that the sixth form proposition is likely strongest for students who want continuity, close pastoral oversight, and a broad mix of academic and applied routes, rather than those who are choosing purely on A-level grade profiles. The school’s stated course mix, including A-levels alongside vocational options and T-levels, reinforces that positioning.

Curriculum organisation is unusually explicit. The school describes a “universally extended day” with a daily Period 6 structure, including Read to Succeed and structured enrichment and support sessions at Key Stage 3. For families, this matters because it signals that additional reading development and enrichment are not left to chance or dependent on opting in after school; they are embedded into the timetable.

Reading is a stated priority and is supported by timetable changes for younger year groups, alongside targeted support for students who need it. The curriculum approach also appears to place weight on vocabulary as a cross-subject tool, which tends to help students access more demanding texts in humanities and sciences and improve clarity in extended writing.

At Key Stage 4, pupils study core GCSE English, English Literature, mathematics, science (combined or separate), with additional strands including personal development, short course religious education, and core PE, alongside four options. The implication is a relatively standard GCSE spine, with the differentiator being how structured the wider personal development and enrichment parts of the week are.

Post-16, the school frames progression as a blend of academic and applied pathways. Entry requirements are clearly stated at policy level: Level 3 routes require at least five GCSEs at grade 4 (or Level 2 pass) and some subjects have higher or subject-specific thresholds. A Level 2 route is described for students who are not yet at the Level 3 entry profile, which can be important locally for retention and for widening participation.

Where Students Go Next

Temple Moor does not publish a detailed Russell Group or Oxbridge pipeline figure in the sources reviewed here, so the most reliable published destination picture comes from the official 2023/24 leaver cohort data provided. For that cohort (58 students), 36% progressed to university, 10% to apprenticeships, 28% to employment, and 5% to further education.

The strategic implication is that the sixth form is supporting multiple end points rather than funnelling students into a single “university-only” track. For families, this can be a plus if your child is undecided at 16 or wants genuine, well-supported alternatives to university. It also makes the careers programme and provider access work more significant, because the quality of advice and exposure to technical routes can meaningfully affect outcomes.

The school’s careers information emphasises aspiration-raising and stereotype-challenging, which fits the mixed destination pattern. The trust also highlights employer-facing workshops and activities, including construction-related careers sessions and practical exposure to industry equipment and contexts.

Temple Moor is a state school, so there are no tuition fees. The admissions question is about application timing, oversubscription criteria, and the realism of securing a place from outside the usual priority groups.

For Year 7 entry, applications are coordinated through Leeds. For September 2026 entry, Leeds lists the application window opening on 1 September 2025, with the national closing date of 31 October 2025. Offer day is Monday 2 March 2026, and families are expected to respond by midnight on 20 March 2026 (for the normal round timeline shown).

Temple Moor’s own admissions information for in-year moves points families back to Leeds City Council’s in-year process. Practically, that means that if you are moving into the area mid-year, the route is procedural rather than relationship-based. The admissions policy also makes clear that address evidence is closely checked, and that late applications are handled within the local coordinated scheme rules.

For sixth form entry (Year 12), the published admissions policy describes an external admission number of 75 and sets out how places are prioritised if oversubscribed. The same policy makes clear that external applicants are expected to apply by the deadline set out in the online prospectus, and that late applicants may only be considered after results day if spaces remain. For families, the key point is that sixth form entry is open to external students, but you should treat the application deadline as a real gateway rather than an informal expression of interest.

A practical tip: use the FindMySchoolMap Search to check your likely travel time and practical routes, then cross-reference the Leeds normal-round timetable so you do not miss key dates. For comparing GCSE and sixth form outcomes with nearby schools, the Local Hub comparison view is the fastest way to contextualise results.

Pastoral systems are described as structured and multi-layered, with clear references to safeguarding training, reporting systems, and partnership working with external agencies. The inspection evidence points to a school that takes local contextual safeguarding risks seriously and aims to make “staying safe” education explicit rather than implied.

In a mainstream school with an inclusive intake, behavioural consistency is often the make-or-break factor for day-to-day wellbeing. Temple Moor’s behaviour approach is designed to be consistent across staff, and the existence of ELECT as a named internal alternative provision suggests the school is trying to offer more than a binary “cope in mainstream or leave” model.

For students with SEND or complex needs, the partnership approach is the main differentiator. The school’s SEND information describes work alongside the East Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre, including places for students with complex needs. That should not be read as a guarantee that every need can be met, but it is a meaningful signal of experience and established practice in inclusive schooling.

Temple Moor has a structured enrichment model rather than a purely optional “clubs list”. The school describes students opting for two extracurricular clubs per term, participating twice per week, organised under categories such as My Body (sport and teams) and My Creativity (creative and imaginative development). The implication is that participation is being normalised and timetable-supported, which can widen take-up among students who might not otherwise stay after school.

Named examples appear in official documentation and inspection material. Chess and debate club are explicitly referenced as part of the extended day offer, and debate club is also described in an enrichment booklet as a programme aimed at developing persuasive speaking, critical listening, and analytical thinking. That combination is a useful indicator that enrichment is being treated as skills development rather than just recreation.

Sixth form enrichment is also described in concrete terms, with leadership-style opportunities such as Art Leader, Sport Leader, and Dance Leader, alongside practical life skills sessions such as Cooking on a budget and fitness-focused activities. The implication for students is a sixth form experience that is trying to build independence and employability alongside qualifications.

Facilities are a current strength at post-16. The sixth form expansion, officially opened in January 2025, is described as a £2.6 million development including new classrooms, a study zone, an ICT suite, and a larger common room with cybercafé and social spaces. For families considering sixth form, this matters because it suggests the physical environment is being configured specifically for older students and independent study, not simply carved out of existing lower-school space.

The school day timing is published in transition material as 8:30am to 3:00pm.

Temple Moor sits off Selby Road in East Leeds, so many families will be thinking in terms of bus corridors and practical journey time rather than a tight village-style walk-to-school catchment. For sixth formers travelling from other areas, the new post-16 facilities and the breadth of routes mean it is worth considering whether a slightly longer commute is sustainable across two years.

Wraparound childcare is not typically a feature of secondary schools in the way it is for primaries. The more relevant practical question here is supervised enrichment and study time, which appears to be built into the extended day structure and the formal enrichment programme.

• Sixth form outcomes are weaker than GCSE outcomes. The published grade profile and England ranking for A-level outcomes are notably lower than the GCSE positioning. If your child’s plan is a highly academic, grades-first sixth form, compare options carefully and ask detailed questions about support and subject-specific results.

• Personal development coverage still needs to be consistent. The latest inspection identifies gaps in students’ knowledge around world religions and protected characteristics, and links this to occasional use of discriminatory language by a minority of pupils. Families may want to ask how the personal development curriculum is being strengthened and how incidents are addressed.

• Inclusive intake means behaviour systems matter. The school’s structured approach and internal alternative provision route are positives, but the reality of a large, inclusive secondary is that consistency and follow-through are critical. Ask what day-to-day behaviour looks like in your child’s likely year group and pathway.

• Admission is competitive in practice. The school describes itself as oversubscribed and the Leeds timeline is strict. Treat deadlines as immovable and do not assume late applications will be handled alongside on-time applications.

Temple Moor High School is best understood as a structured, inclusive East Leeds secondary with a clear emphasis on consistency, embedded enrichment, and a sixth form that has invested heavily in facilities and breadth of routes. GCSE performance sits in the solid middle of schools in England, and Progress 8 suggests many students outperform their starting points, which will appeal to families who value progress and stability.

Who it suits: families looking for an open-access state school with a broad intake, consistent routines, and a clear enrichment structure, including those who want a viable local sixth form with improved facilities and multiple progression routes. The main challenge is aligning expectations for sixth form results with the school’s broader, mixed-destination model.