Millthorpe School Review 2026: Inclusive York Secondary with Strong Curriculum Breadth

Millthorpe is a large, mixed 11–16 secondary serving the South Bank area of York, with a capacity of 1,060 students. Its story is tied to place: the site’s Victorian mansion, Nunthorpe Court, dates to 1856, and the first cohort of 49 boys began lessons there on 21 September 1920. The modern school took shape through York’s move to comprehensive education, merging in 1985, and it later became an academy on 1 April 2016 as a founding school within Excel Learning Trust.

Leadership has recently stabilised. Mrs Kavina Rothenburg has led the school since June 2024 and was confirmed as Principal on a permanent basis in May 2025.

The latest Ofsted inspection (12–13 March 2024) judged Millthorpe Good in all areas and confirmed safeguarding as effective.

Millthorpe’s best clues about culture sit in its systems. The school runs to clear rhythms, including a structured timetable and a daily enrichment block (14:45–15:30) that signals a deliberate choice to protect time for wider development rather than squeezing everything into breaktimes.

A second cultural marker is the language used for learning conduct and behaviour. “Going for Gold” is positioned as a shared expectation, not a bolt-on reward scheme. In practice, that tends to suit students who respond well to explicit routines and feedback, especially at transition points such as Year 7 and the start of GCSE courses.

Inclusion is not treated as a specialist add-on. In March 2024, Millthorpe became the first school in York to receive the Inclusion Quality Mark and was named a Centre of Excellence, which is a useful external signal for families prioritising consistent classroom adjustments and whole-school inclusion practice.

The site itself is part of the school’s identity. Nunthorpe Court, originally built in 1856, sits behind the modern school and anchors a longer narrative that includes the school’s early twentieth-century beginnings and later comprehensive merger. That heritage does not automatically improve outcomes, but it does create continuity, and for some pupils that sense of belonging matters.

Millthorpe’s performance profile is best understood as solid and broadly in line with the middle range of schools in England, rather than sitting at an extreme. On the FindMySchool GCSE measures (based on official data), the school is ranked 1,648th in England and 16th locally within York. That positioning places it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

The headline GCSE indicators reinforce that “secure rather than spectacular” picture. Attainment 8 is 49.4 and Progress 8 is +0.23, which indicates students make above-average progress from their starting points across the GCSE basket. Average EBacc APS is 4.35, and 14.8% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure recorded for the school.

For parents comparing local options, the practical move is to use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to set these measures alongside other York secondaries, as small differences in Progress 8 and EBacc can matter depending on a child’s subject strengths.

The curriculum offer is one of Millthorpe’s clearer strengths because it is set out in unusually concrete terms. Key Stage 3 runs on a two-week timetable with 50 one-hour lessons, five hours per day. That structure can be reassuring for families who want predictable pacing and clear lesson-time expectations.

Breadth at Key Stage 3 is also explicit. Students study English, maths, science, geography, history, computing, music, drama, art, design technology and religious education, plus personal, social, health and economic education. Languages at this stage are French and German, which matters for families who want a genuine choice rather than a single-language model.

At Key Stage 4, the school positions GCSE choices around pathways aligned to prior attainment. All students take English language and literature, maths, and science (either separate sciences or combined science). A language is part of the core for Pathway 1. Options listed for current courses beginning September 2025 include subjects such as computer science, engineering, food preparation and nutrition, child development, graphic communication and 3D product design. The practical implication is that Millthorpe keeps vocationally-relevant and creative routes open alongside traditional academic ones, which can be important for students who thrive through applied learning.

A further teaching marker is the attention paid to reading and subject vocabulary as students move through school. The school positions the library as a hub for reading culture, with targeted support for students who need to build fluency. That tends to benefit students who arrive at secondary with gaps in reading stamina, because it creates structured opportunities to catch up without being removed from the wider curriculum for long periods.

Millthorpe is an 11–16 school, so the destination story is about post-16 routes. The school’s careers guidance is designed to steer students towards an appropriate next step, supported by a careers programme and signposting.

The post-16 options list is broad and, importantly, it names providers rather than relying on generic language. It includes York College and Selby College, plus a range of local school sixth forms such as All Saints RC School, Archbishop Holgate’s School, Fulford School, Huntington School and Joseph Rowntree School. For students looking for specialist creative pathways, Access Creative is also listed, alongside Military College and Derwent Training for those considering more structured training routes.

This range matters because it suggests the school expects multiple “good outcomes” after Year 11, not just one model of success. Families can use that list as a prompt to visit and compare post-16 settings early in Year 11, rather than waiting for GCSE results season when decision-making pressure is high.

Millthorpe is part of Excel Learning Trust, which acts as the admission authority, and it participates in York’s coordinated admissions scheme. Applications are made through the local authority, and in-year requests are also managed through the coordinated process.

For September 2026 entry into Year 7, York’s published timeline is clear. Applications open on 12 September 2025 and close on 31 October 2025, with offers released on 1 March 2026 (or the next working day).

Millthorpe’s own open evening information is deliberately framed as a pattern rather than a fixed date, with the event usually held in September or October each year. If families miss that window, the school encourages arranging a visit during the school day.

When families are weighing the chances of securing a place, the practical step is to look carefully at the trust’s oversubscription criteria and York’s coordinated scheme guidance, then sanity-check any assumptions with a visit and questions about how places were allocated in the most recent round. If your decision hinges on proximity, FindMySchool’s Map Search is useful for checking your exact distance consistently, using the same point-to-point logic across schools.

Pastoral support is described with a level of specificity that parents often appreciate because it moves beyond general statements. The school offers on-site counselling, typically in blocks of eight sessions (flexed as needed), with sessions usually lasting 60 minutes. The named counsellor is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, which offers some reassurance on professional standards.

Beyond formal counselling, there is also a student leadership model that includes wellbeing-related roles. Mental Health Champions sit alongside peer mentors and form representatives, which can help normalise early help-seeking and reduce the stigma some teenagers feel around asking for support.

SEND support is a prominent feature of the school’s self-description. Students on the SEND register may be supported through SEND Support or, for complex needs, an education, health and care plan. The school describes a graduated approach (assess, plan, do, review) and places emphasis on minimising barriers to learning so students can access the full curriculum rather than being routinely withdrawn.

Millthorpe has an unusually detailed enrichment and clubs listing, which is helpful because it shows how activities are timetabled and who they are for. Sport is broad, with options such as archery (lunchtime), badminton (after school), and a Year 9–11 bouldering club hosted off-site at Red Goat for students aged 14+. The implication is that physical activity is not limited to traditional team sports, which can be a real benefit for students who dislike competitive fixtures but still want a physical outlet.

Performing arts and music also have clear routes in. Choir, concert band, jazz band and guitar club run at lunchtime, and a whole-school production is staged annually, with auditions in July and rehearsals running from September to December. That timetable suggests the school treats performances as structured projects with clear phases, which tends to suit students who enjoy working towards a public outcome.

Clubs with a strong “identity” are another feature. Debate Club has a formal structure, including rebuttals and closing speeches, and Dungeons and Dragons runs in the library after school. Manga Club and an LGBT+ club appear in the listing, alongside Language Ambassadors and French speaking drop-ins for GCSE students. These are the sorts of activities that often matter most in secondary, because they help students find a peer group beyond their tutor group or friendship circle from primary.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should still plan for the usual secondary extras such as uniform, trips, and optional instrumental lessons or club-related costs, which vary by activity and year group.

The published school-day structure is precise. Gates open at 08:25, students are expected through by 08:35, and the day includes a dedicated enrichment block from 14:45 to 15:30. The total compulsory time is listed as 30 hours and 25 minutes per week.

For travel, Millthorpe is positioned to serve York’s South Bank area, so many families use walking, cycling and local buses. If transport is a key concern, ask during visits how enrichment and after-school clubs interact with typical bus timetables and pick-up routines.

• Attendance expectations are tightening. Attendance is a stated improvement priority, and families should expect a proactive approach to follow-up where patterns of absence emerge. This matters most for students who struggle with anxiety-based attendance, because early joint planning between home and school tends to be the difference between a wobble and a long-term pattern.

• SEND support has been improving, but consistency matters. The school has strengthened systems and training around SEND, but some families have experienced delays historically. Parents of children with complex needs should ask detailed questions about how support is triggered, how quickly adjustments are put in place, and how communication runs across a term.

• The day is designed to be full. With a long timetable and a daily enrichment block, students who need decompression time after lessons may need support to choose activities that restore rather than drain. The upside is breadth; the trade-off is energy management.

• Transition is a major moment. The curriculum structure and behaviour expectations are clear, which suits many Year 7s, but students who arrive needing extra scaffolding may benefit from early routines around organisation, reading, and homework habits to make the first term feel manageable.

Millthorpe offers a clear, structured secondary experience with curriculum breadth and a strong emphasis on inclusion. Academic outcomes sit around the middle of England schools on the available headline measures, with above-average progress suggesting many students improve during their time here. The culture is shaped by explicit expectations, daily enrichment, and a wide menu of clubs that help students find their niche.

Best suited to families in York who want a large, mixed, non-selective secondary with clear routines, meaningful extracurricular choice, and a visible commitment to inclusion and wellbeing support.