Millcourt School
2 Shelf Mills, Wade House, Shelf, Halifax, HX3 7PAOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Millcourt School is a special school in Halifax for ages 9 to 18. It is one of the 112 schools in Calderdale. Its latest Ofsted rating is Good, from an inspection in October 2023.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 3 October 2023, report published 20 November 2023
- Overall effectiveness
- Good
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 3 October 2023
Staff at this school make it their mission to meet the individual needs of every pupil who attends. Pupils settle into the routines of school life well when they join the school. The school can demonstrate dramatic improvements in attendance and behaviour of pupils. Pupils learn that this is a safe place to be. They are taught how to manage their own behaviours positively. Building good, strong personal characteristics with pupils is central to everything that happens in school. Skilled pastoral staff manage expectations of what pupils can do and should do. They ensure that all staff are kept up to date with pupils' changing needs. A comprehensive personal, social and health education and spiritual, moral, social and cultural curriculum are planned, alongside a strong careers curriculum, to give pupils the opportunities to succeed in life after school. Expectations of behaviour and what pupils can achieve academically are high. In core subjects, the curriculum that pupils study is relevant and well sequenced. This helps pupils remember what they need to know. In some subjects, school leaders need to make the expectations of exactly what pupils need to know, and in what order, more precise.
What the school should improve
- In some foundation subjects, the curriculum does not clearly state what pupils must learn or what associated vocabulary the school expect pupils to understand and retain in their long-term memory. Learning in some subjects is focused on an activity rather than on what the school want pupils to learn from this. This prevents pupils from being able to build reliably on prior learning and secure their knowledge in these subjects. The school must ensure that subject leaders get the support and guidance they need to create curriculums that clearly identify what pupils need to learn and in what order. This should include the language that will further support pupils to talk about what they know and remember.
Exam results
GCSE results (key stage 4), 2024/25
10 pupils in the year group
Pupil numbers and mix
62 pupils on roll, with places for 63
Schools near Millcourt School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadbeck Learning Centre | 1 mile | Ofsted: Good | Not published |
| Co-op Academy Southfield | 2 miles | Ofsted: Good | Not published |
| Bradford Beacon School | 3 miles | No Ofsted inspection | Not published |
| Prism Independent School | 3 miles | Ofsted: Good | Not published |
| Oastlers School | 4 miles | Report card: Exceptional | Attainment 8: 14.5 |
School details
- School type
- Other independent special school
- Sector
- Independent
- Age range
- 9 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Neil Bourke
- Phone
- 01274924661
- Address
- 2 Shelf Mills, Wade House, Shelf, Halifax, HX3 7PA
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- URN
- 147983
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.