Here are the latest figures for how well Sheffield's pupils did at their GCSEs in the 2024-2025 academic year - and which schools did the best.
The deadline for secondary school applications to get your child in for Year 7 closes in Sheffield on October 16 - less than a month away.
Parents and pupils can pick their school based on all sorts of reason - from tradition to public transport, to the strength of their SEND support to the prestige of their sports facilities.
But if the goal is good grades, the place to start is a school’s ‘Attainment 8’ scores - the way the Department for Education weigh up how well pupils have performed in up to eight qualifications, made up of a combination of English, maths, sciences, computer science, history, geography and languages, and other qualifications.
Alongside those are figures for how many pupils earned at least a Grade 5 in English and maths, as well as the number of pupils who entered 'EBacc' - shorthand for if pupils study English, maths, sciences, a language, and either history or geography.
They are not the official metric the Government uses to gauge how well a school is doing - but they do give a good insight into what kind of grades pupils get at each school in Sheffield.
The latest figures are only for how well pupils did in the 2024/25 academic year, as the next batch of Attainment 8 scores for 2025/26 will not come out until February.
Take a look at our gallery below for a cheat sheet of the best schools in Sheffield.
To learn more about how to apply for a school place in Sheffield in time for September 2027, visit the Sheffield City Council’s website here - https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/schools-childcare/how-apply-school-sheffield/apply-secondary-school.
1. Mercia School
The secondary school with the best grades in Sheffield in 2024-2025 was, once again, Mercia School, with an Attainment 8 score of 68.1, with 100 per cent of its eligible students entering for EBacc and 95 per cent of students earning a Grade 5 or higher in English and Maths. The Outstanding rated school is one of the best performing in the country at the last round of Progress 8 scores, which have been temporarily suspended as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. | Google
2. High Storrs School
High Storrs School scored the second best GCSE grades in Sheffield in 2024-2025, with an Attainment 8 score of 61, with 74.4 per cent of its eligible students entering for EBacc and 70.2 per cent of students earning a Grade 5 or higher in English and Maths. | National World
3. Tapton School
Tapton School had the third best GCSE grades in Sheffield in 2024-2025, with an attainment 8 score of 58, plus 49.4 per cent of its eligible students entering for EBacc and 67.7 per cent of students earning a Grade 5 or higher in English and Maths. The school was named top Comprehensive School of the Year in the North by The Sunday Times' Parent Power Guide 2025. | Tapton School
4. Silverdale School
Silverdale School had the fourth best GCSE grades in Sheffield in 2024-2025, with an Attainment 8 score of 56.7, with 47.1 per cent of its eligible students entering for EBacc and 70.1 per cent of students earning a Grade 5 or higher in English and Maths. Silverdale also recorded the second best A-Level results in the city in 2025 and rated the 7th top comprehensive school in the North in the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide. | Andrew Roe/AHPIX LTD