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.placeholder image
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

The 18 top state primary schools across Wakefield - based on pupils mastering essential school skills

Amber Allott
By Amber Allott

Education & science writer

Published 17th Sep 2025, 12:00 GMT

These local schools excel in more ways than one 🌟

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:

Yet another Pontefract primary academy, Orchard Head has a roll size of about 340, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 88% of its pupils also met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally.

7. Orchard Head Junior and Infant and Nursery School

Yet another Pontefract primary academy, Orchard Head has a roll size of about 340, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 88% 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

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This is a local authority-maintained junior school in Ossett, which takes pupils from the age of 7. It has a roll size of about 337, and in a recent Ofsted inspection, was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, 88% of its pupils again met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally.

8. Ossett Southdale Church of England Junior School

This is a local authority-maintained junior school in Ossett, which takes pupils from the age of 7. It has a roll size of about 337, and in a recent Ofsted inspection, was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, 88% 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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This is a primary academy in Hemsworth. It has a roll size of about 187, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had 88% of its pupils meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally.

9. West End Academy

This is a primary academy in Hemsworth. It has a roll size of about 187, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it too had 88% of its pupils meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally. | Google

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This is a maintained primary school in Ossett. It has a roll size of about 112, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 87% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally.

10. Ossett Flushdyke Junior and Infant School

This is a maintained primary school in Ossett. It has a roll size of about 112, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 87% of its pupils 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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The Rookeries is a primary academy in Pontefract. It has a roll size of about 322, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 84% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally.

11. The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School

The Rookeries is a primary academy in Pontefract. It has a roll size of about 322, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 84% of its pupils 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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This is a primary academy in the Ackworth Moor Top area. It has a roll size of about 320, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 83% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 62% locally and 61% nationally.

12. Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane

This is a primary academy in the Ackworth Moor Top area. It has a roll size of about 320, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 83% of its pupils 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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