Primary schools have the vital task of helping their young pupils develop skills like literacy and numeracy, as well as an appetite for learning which will serve them throughout the rest of their time in education.
Learners across Wakefield, and much of Yorkshire as a whole, returned to class for the start of the new 2025/26 school year earlier this month. At the same time, parents of small children have started looking ahead to next year, with applications for primary school Reception class places open now.
These parents will no doubt want to make sure the schools they put down as options will be the right fit for their little one. With this in mind, we’ve looked into some of the highest-performing state primaries across the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council area - using our own metric.
The key figure it is based on is the proportion of each school’s pupils who completed Year 6 in the most recent academic year (currently 2023/24), and met the Government’s expected standards in three key areas: reading, writing and maths. We’ve only included the very highest achieving local schools, which had at least 80% of their pupils meet this target.
But performance isn’t the only measure of a school’s strengths, so we’ve also made sure each one included had a positive mark in its latest Ofsted inspection. These are set to change in the very near future, but in the meantime, we’ve limited our league table to schools with either a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one. This means that quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded Government standards.
Here were the 18 Wakefield schools that made the cut - and came out on top:
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1. Carleton Park Junior and Infant School
At the top of the list is Carleton Park, a primary academy in Pontefract. It has a roll size of about 207, and in a recent Ofsted inspection, was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, 93% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
2. Horbury Bridge Church of England Junior and Infant Academy
This is an Anglican primary academy in the Horbury Bridge area. It has a roll size of about 122, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 93% of its pupils also met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
3. Jerry Clay Academy
Jerry Clay is a primary academy in the Wrenthorpe area. It has a roll size of about 211, and was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 93% of its pupils again met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
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4. Larks Hill Junior and Infant School
Larks Hill is another Pontefract-based primary academy. It has a roll size of about 207, and in a recent Ofsted inspection, was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had 93% of its pupils meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
5. England Lane Academy
England Lane is a primary academy in Knottingley. It has a roll size of about 213, and was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 90% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
6. Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School
Halfpenny Lane is a primary academy in Pontefract, with a roll size of about 443. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, 88% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally. | Google