Standing view · skills · Barnsley
mixed, held with tentative confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2024/2025.
Pupils achieving GCSE grade 4 or above in English and maths in Barnsley accounted for 59.2% in 2023/24 and 63.8% in 2024/25, a rise of 4.6 percentage points and a favourable movement. Those achieving grade 5 or above accounted for 41.2% in 2023/24 and 45% in 2024/25, a rise of 3.8 percentage points, also favourable. Both measures fell in the earlier year and rose in the later one, and both stood higher in 2024/25 than in 2023/24.
A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Barnsley. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths | 2023/2024 | deteriorating |
| GCSE grade 5+ in English and maths | 2023/2024 | deteriorating |
| GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths | 2024/2025 | improving |
| GCSE grade 5+ in English and maths | 2024/2025 | improving |