Calderdale has 15 maintained secondary schools, two independent secondary schools, one special school with a sixth form, one general further education college and around 23 work based learning providers. There are no higher education institutions in the district.

Of the 15 maintained secondary schools, 13 have a sixth form. Sixth forms in maintained schools vary in size from 29 to 316 (September 2003) with six under 150 pupils although two of these operate a joint sixth form. There is a mix of governance arrangements:

• 6 Community secondary schools
• 7 Foundation secondary schools
• 2 Voluntary Aided secondary schools

This varied pattern of governance is an important factor for the local authority when any structural changes are discussed. A further significant factor is that two of the schools, Crossley Heath School and North Halifax Grammar School have a selective intake.

Achievement at Key Stage 4 is above the West Yorkshire average but varies significantly between schools. GCSE results for 2003 ranged from 25% to 97% A*-C grades. The LEA average in 2003 for GCSE grades A*-C was 52.1%, slightly above the national average. In 2003, Calderdale results at GCSE were the highest in West Yorkshire but were the lowest at GCE/VCE with an average points score of 224 compared with a West Yorkshire average of 255 and a national average of 259. There is only one further education college, Calderdale College in Halifax. In 2003 the college enrolled 1,033 students aged 16-19 and 6,954 students aged over 19. Curriculum grades were: five good, four satisfactory, two unsatisfactory. The college’s success rate is slightly above the median for colleges of a similar type. The most recent inspection on Calderdale LEA in July 2002, reported on considerable improvement and the local authority was judged to be performing nearly all its functions satisfactorily.

Kirklees has 195 schools, two general further education colleges, two sixth form colleges, a university, and a wide network of training providers. There are seven independent schools, of which five are faith schools. There are 25 maintained secondary schools, of which seven have sixth forms. In January 2004 the numbers of learners in school sixth forms ranged from 148 at Howden Clough School to 387 at Heckmondwike Grammar School. There are nine Special Schools. Achievement at Key Stage 4 varies significantly. Provisional GCSE results for 2004 range from 11% to 99% A*-C grades. At GCE A/AS level all but one of the school sixth forms had a lower points score per entry than the national average in 2003 although the overall LEA average was slightly above the national average. Further education is concentrated in three colleges in the Huddersfield area, Huddersfield Technical College, Greenhead College and Huddersfield NEW College, and Dewsbury College which includes Batley School of Art and design in north Kirklees. According to LSC data the success rates for all four colleges are above the median figures for colleges of a similar type. Greenhead College is approximately 16% above the national median for sixth form colleges.