Leicestershire’s learners are now several weeks into their new school term, and should be starting to get into the swing of things.
The summer holidays ended in late August for most local schoolchildren, with the 2025/26 school year beginning in late August - a little earlier than many of their fellow students throughout England. Across the county, about 12 thousand of these pupils will have just started at new state secondary schools - setting out on an important learning journey which will see them earn important qualifications like their GCSEs.
To mark the occasion, we’ve revisited the top performing state secondary schools across the Leicester City and Leicestershire County council areas, using our own ‘gold standard’ for schools. The key figure this uses is each school’s latest Progress 8 score (currently from 2024), an official figure based on GCSE results and other student achievements which helps to determine how quickly pupils progressed compared to peers from similar starting points.
Any score above 0 is positive, but we’ve limited our league table to only schools with a 0.3 or above - considered a strong ‘above average’ performance. It is worth noting that this data has now been finalised, so results and placings may differ slightly from earlier reports based on interim results.
But since exam results aren’t the only measure of a great learning environment, we’ve also made sure all schools included had positive ratings in their latest Ofsted inspections. These are going through an overhaul at the minute, but only schools with a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system or positive ratings across all categories under the current one have been included. This means that quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded expectation.
Here are the 19 schools from across Leicestershire which triumphed this year:
1. Madani Girls’ School
At the top of the list is Madani Girls’ School, a local authority-maintained Islamic girls' secondary in Leicester, which shares a site with Madani Boys School. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an outstanding Progress 8 score of 1.14 – earning it a firm place in the ‘well above average’ band, the highest available. | Google
2. Rushey Mead Academy
Rushey Mead is another secondary academy in Leicester, most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a ‘well above average Progress 8 score of 0.9. | Google
3. The Market Bosworth School
This is a secondary academy in the town of Market Bosworth. It was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.83. | Google
4. Soar Valley College
Soar Valley College is a secondary academy in Leicester. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a ‘well above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.74. | Google