Located near Halifax, in West Yorkshire, this affordable, small co-ed day and boarding school is academically strong but has many individual success stories in sport and the arts too.

Rishworth is an all-through school taking children from Nursery to Year 13 (three to 18 years) that’s popular with families from the surrounding areas in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Founded in 1724, the school has held onto its founding values of curiosity, valour, kindness, individuality while certainly moving with the times. Now a much larger all-through school of around 350 students (the former schoolhouse is now the school’s private chapel), Rishworth has a reputation for excellence in music, sport and STEM.

With annual boarding fees of £30,900-£34,170, it’s also one of the UK’s more affordable day and boarding schools when compared to the average annual cost of £15,655 a year for day students and £37,000 per year for boarders.

Its motto, Res non Verba (Deeds not Words), sums up nicely the school’s hands-on approach to education; as the school says, it has a “Yorkshire no-nonsense approach to decision making and actions” and lessons are much more hands-on and practical rather than taking a now outdated rote learning approach.

Rishworth has an excellent location; it is set in 140 acres of beautiful Yorkshire countryside within a charming village, yet just a short distance from Manchester. The school’s wonderful heritage comes with some beautiful historical buildings that provide an inspiring backdrop for learning. The school has retained its ethos, and students can expect to become part of a community that values individuality and celebrates inclusion. Students are encouraged to develop curiosity, valour, kindness, individuality – the school’s four core values.

Rishworth is divided between two sites. Heathfield Prep, the Junior School for Nursery to Year 6, has its own self-contained grounds, with a hall for assemblies and concerts as well as specialist rooms for Science, Art, Design Technology, ICT, Learning Support and Music. 

Curriculum

The learning journey at Rishworth begins with the early years’ curriculum for three to five-year-olds, which is based on the UK’s Early Years Foundation Stage framework. This focuses on communication and language, physical development, personal, social, and emotional development, literacy, maths, global awareness, and art and design. There are also specialist lessons in music, PE, and swimming.

The school then follows the National Curriculum for England, which focuses on the core subjects, science, creative arts and design, French and Spanish, music, PE, ICT, and PSHE (Personal, social, and health education). Students have a very well-rounded education, and the weekly timetable balances academia, creativity, and sport. There are mixed-ability tutor groups through to Year 9 with setting only for maths.

The list of GCSE options is broad enough to cover academic and creative subjects, including some subjects assessed by exam, others more by coursework – art and design, business, computing, design and technology, drama, food and nutrition, French, geography, history, IT, music, physical education, psychology, science (triple award), and Spanish. This breadth continues into the Sixth Form where students have 21 A Level subjects to choose from, which is enough choice to allow most students to pursue their personal strengths and interests.  

With an average class size of 13 in the Senior school and eight in the Sixth Form, the school is able to offer a more personalised learning experience; because of its small class sizes, teachers can tailor the education to every child’s needs.  The small size of the Sixth Form, in particular, really helps to bridge the gap between school and university for students.

The school also offers a Pre-A Level Diploma, designed to prepare international students for further education in the UK. The one-year, full boarding course covers IELTS certification, a GCSE in their native language, GCSE mathematics, sport, wellbeing and the arts.

Sport and the arts

The school arts programme includes drama, art, and music. Just one look at Rishworth’s busy calendar of annual talent shows, assembly performances, art exhibitions, and school productions gives you an idea of its passion for the creative arts. The Rishworth Young Musician of the Year competition is always popular, and the school’s purpose-built Chan Music School gives students plenty of space to learn and perform.

Sport is one of the school’s strengths. Facilities are excellent and the school is well-equipped to deliver a broad PE and games programme covering athletics, basketball, football, hockey, netball, rounders, rugby, swimming and tennis. There’s a swimming pool, fitness suite, four badminton courts, sports hall, grass pitches and three tennis courts. Students also use public cricket pitches and Astroturf pitches located nearby.

There are several students representing the school at club, regional and national levels in sports as varied as rugby, hockey, netball, dressage, athletics, swimming, netball, tennis, football and badminton.

This is an excellent school for young rugby, cricket and badminton players. The school’s own Ford Rugby Academy offers an elite athlete pathway where students are coached by rugby professionals; there’s also a Cricket Academy and Badminton Academy (founded and run by former England player Helen Calverley).

Beyond the classroom

There’s a long and exciting list of extra-curricular activities at Rishworth, with highlights certainly including a beginners’ ski club, a space programme (juniors recently launched a module into space compete with the school’s logo and a Lego pilot), and the ever-popular F1 in Schools Technology Challenge.

The large extra-curricular programme offers plenty of opportunity and fun beyond the classroom.

Academic results

2022 A Level results: For the third consecutive year over 80% of grades were at A* - C; 50% of grades were A* or A.

2022 BTEC and vocational qualifications: 100% pass rate and 93% of students attained the highest possible grades.

2022 GCSE results: Nearly 90% of GCSEs were passed with grades 4 – 9.

Leavers’ destinations included UCL, Kings College London, Leeds, Bristol and Durham.

Boarding

The school offers a range of flexi, weekly and full boarding options from Year 5 through to Sixth Form; parents asked for more flexibility and the school has delivered. Around 50% of boarders come from the UK; the rest are international students coming from 14 countries worldwide and this global community gives students the opportunity to learn about different cultures, languages, and traditions.

Senior students have individual study bedrooms while most younger students share a double room.

Admission and fees

Student sit the Rishworth Assessment (Years 7 upwards only).

Annual day fees range from £7,350-£10,560 for Reception to Year 6; £12,960 for Years 7-8; and £14,100 for Years 9-13. Annual full boarding fees are £30,900-£34,170 for Years 7-8 and £33,300 for Years 9-13.

Our view

Good for: Rishworth is an all-rounder school which is academically strong but has many individual success stories in sport and the arts too.  Rishworth will appeal to families looking for a school that holds onto its traditional values, and its fees of less than £37,000 make this a more affordable option for a quality private education, too.

The school’s Yorkshire location at the top of the Pennines, with easy access to Leeds and Manchester to the west, also offers parents the best of city and country life too.

Not for: Boarding only starts from Year 5, and there are other prep schools in the area that offer boarding from Year 3. Also, there is no option to study the IB.

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