Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School
George Street, Featherstone, Pontefract, WF7 5BG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Mathew Brown
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (ce)
- Constituency
- Normanton and Hemsworth
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 410
- Pupils on roll
- 314
- URN
- 108249
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977706063
About this school
Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 314 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 72 | 89 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 35% | 49% | 46% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 50% | 65% | 57% |
| Expected standard in maths | 50% | 60% | 62% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 61% | 60% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wakefield average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 35% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 49% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 46% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 356 |
| 2023/24 | 373 |
| 2024/25 | 354 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School compares
Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School ranked 86th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46% | 7.7% | 45.8% | 314 | — |
| Featherstone Purston Infant School | — | 7.6% | 30.7% | 203 | 0.2 miles |
| Featherstone Girnhill Infant School | — | 6.6% | 46.5% | 103 | 0.3 miles |
| Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School | 42% | 5.2% | 23.8% | 338 | 0.8 miles |
| Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy | 71% | 5% | 18.8% | 227 | 1.3 miles |
| Larks Hill Junior and Infant School | 97% | 2.4% | 6.4% | 203 | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.76%
- English as an additional language
- 11.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.74%
- Persistent absence
- 23.92%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Featherstone Purston Infant School0.2 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Featherstone Girnhill Infant School0.3 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School0.8 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Larks Hill Junior and Infant School1.7 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Pontefract
Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School ranks 26th of the 33 ranked primary schools in Pontefract.
- Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Ackworth Mill Dam School Primary
- Ash Grove Primary Academy Primary
- Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Carleton Park Junior and Infant School Primary
- Cherry Tree Academy Primary
- Darrington Church of England Primary School Primary
- De Lacy Primary School Primary
- Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy Primary
- Featherstone Girnhill Infant School Primary
- Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School Primary
- Featherstone Purston Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School teach?
- Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the headteacher of Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School?
- The headteacher of Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is Mr Mathew Brown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School?
- Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School has 314 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School full?
- Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School has capacity for 410 pupils and 314 on roll (77%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School a faith school?
- Yes. Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Leeds (ce).
- Does Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 35% in 2022/23 and 46% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School compare with other schools in Wakefield?
- Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School ranked 86th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's absence rate?
- Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.