1
De Lacy Primary School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF8 2TG
1
30 Apr 2024
Top 10 Primary schools in Pontefract
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2022)
This Top 10 showcases primary schools in the town of Pontefract. It’s built from the latest graded Ofsted inspections. We rank Outstanding (grade 1) above Good (grade 2), then prioritise newer inspections. As tie-breakers, we consider the “Quality of education” sub-judgement (where available), then %FSM and school size.
Total primary schools
32
Outstanding
2
Good
24
Median inspection year
2022
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 7% · G: 80% · RI: 13% · I: 0%
2
Grove Lea Primary School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF9 4BQ
1
9 Oct 2017
3
Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF7 7HH
2
23 Jun 2024
4
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF8 4AA
2
20 May 2024
5
South Kirkby Academy
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF9 3DP
2
2 Jul 2023
6
Ash Grove Primary Academy
PONTEFRACT • West Yorkshire • WF9 2TF
2
26 Jun 2023
7
Kirk Smeaton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF8 3JY
2
28 Mar 2023
8
St Helen's CE Primary School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF9 4EG
2
22 Mar 2023
9
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF8 3NP
2
15 Feb 2023
10
South Elmsall Carlton Junior and Infant School
Pontefract • West Yorkshire • WF9 2QQ
2
16 Jan 2023
How we rank these schools
- Headline Ofsted grade: Outstanding (1) outranks Good (2), then RI (3), then Inadequate (4).
- More recent graded inspection dates rank higher.
- Where available, we use the Quality of education sub-judgement as a tie-breaker.
- Lower free school meals (%) may break remaining ties.
- Larger roll (pupil count) is a final tie-breaker.
Only the ten highest-ranked schools are shown; we also list “near misses” just below.
About Ofsted grades
- Outstanding (1): Highest judgement across key areas.
- Good (2): Strong effectiveness; meets standards consistently.
- Requires improvement (3): Not yet good; clear areas to improve.
- Inadequate (4): Significant weaknesses found.
Ungraded Section 8 visits check whether the previous graded judgement still stands, but they don’t replace it.
Data freshness & coverage
We refresh inspections and school snapshots regularly. If a school was inspected very recently, its report may not yet appear here.
Top-10 pages only appear for areas with at least 10 primary schools that have a graded Ofsted inspection.
Map of the Top 10
Also highly rated nearby
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School 2 • Dec 2022
- Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane 2 • Nov 2022
- South Kirkby Common Road Infant and Nursery School 2 • Jan 2022
- Orchard Head Junior and Infant and Nursery School 2 • Nov 2019
- Featherstone Girnhill Infant School 2 • Jun 2019
- Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School 2 • Mar 2019
- Moorthorpe Primary School With Inclusion Resource 2 • Jan 2019
- Upton Primary School 2 • Oct 2017
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe 2 • Mar 2017
- St Giles C of E Academy 2 • Nov 2015