Thirsk School and Sixth Form College

Location Quiz Nearby Places School performance Extracurricular activities Notable former pupils

Thirsk School and Sixth Form College is a secondary school in Sowerby, a village adjoining Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1957 as Thirsk Grammar and Modern School. It has nearly 1,200 pupils, including about 200 in the sixth form.

Location

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Nearby Places

Sowerby, North Yorkshire

Sowerby is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England immediately south of the neighbouring market town of Thirsk. Although the boundary between the two parishes runs very close to Thirsk town centre, the village retains its own identity and has a separate Parish Council. The author James Herriot lived in the village.

Landmark Neighbourhood

St Oswald's Church, Sowerby

St Oswald's Church is a Church of England parish church in Sowerby, North Yorkshire, England. It is named after Oswald of Northumbria.

Church Landmark

Thirsk Town railway station

Thirsk Town was a railway station that briefly served passengers for Thirsk, North Yorkshire, England in the 1840s and 1850s. It was closed to passengers in 1855 but continued in freight use until October 1966. Trains could leave the site only south-eastwards onto the Leeds Northern Railway towards Ripon, but a reversal was possible into Thirsk railway station after crossing the main line between York and Darlington.

Historic Site Landmark

The Courthouse, Thirsk

The Courthouse is a historic building in the Sowerby area of Thirsk, a town in North Yorkshire, in England. A courthouse was constructed in the town in about 1840. Between 1885 and 1886, a new courthouse was built next door, and the original building was converted into a house for the inspector. The building was extended to the rear in the 20th century. The court closed in the late 20th century, and the building was converted into a base for the Rural Arts charity. The charity describes it as "the only professionally run cross-arts centre" in the county. The building was grade II listed in 1998, and was refurbished in 2021. The inspector's house is built of brick with stone dressings and a shallow hipped slate roof. It has two storeys and three bays. It has a central round-headed doorway and sash windows. The court house is joined to the house by a link containing a doorway. The court house is in stone with a slate roof. On the front are windows flanked by Doric pilasters, above which is an entablature, and a pediment containing a circular window. In front of the buildings is a low brick wall with stone coping and a gate.

Charity Historic Site

Thirsk and Sowerby Town Hall

Thirsk and Sowerby Town Hall is a municipal building in Westgate, Sowerby, North Yorkshire, England. Although it is commonly described as being in Thirsk, it is on the south side of Westgate, which is in Sowerby. The building is used as the meeting place of Thirsk Town Council and of Sowerby Parish Council.

Government Landmark

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School performance

In 2012 an Ofsted inspection rated Thirsk School as Grade 2 (good) for all areas and overall effectiveness. As of 2025, the most recent inspection was in 2022. In 2019, the proportion of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate was 67%, considerably above the average for North Yorkshire and England. The proportion achieving Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs was 38%, considerably below the average for North Yorkshire and for England. The Attainment 8 score was in line with the average for North Yorkshire and for England. The average A Level grade in 2019 was C, compared to an average of C+ in North Yorkshire and England. The A Level progress score was below average.

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activity includes the school's newspaper, The Falcon. Under the previous name of T.S. Times, the school paper was named the best secondary school newspaper in the country in a competition run by First News.

Notable former pupils

Ben Coad (born 1994), English cricketer Alfie McCalmont (born 2000), Northern Irish footballer John Rankin Waddell (born 1966), fashion photographer Jonathan (Jon) Steel (born 1980), former Scottish rugby union and rugby league international