Rooks Nest Academy
Rooks Nest Road, Outwood, Wakefield, WF1 3DX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ROOKS NEST ACADEMY
- Headteacher
- Ms Kimberley Dawson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Wakefield and Rothwell
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 368
- URN
- 137438
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924870700
About this school
Rooks Nest Academy is a primary academy in Wakefield. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 368 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 45 | 45 | 46 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 91% | 80% | 85% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 18% | 18% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 93% | 82% | 85% |
| Expected standard in maths | 91% | 84% | 91% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 89% | 78% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.80 | - | - |
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 Rooks Nest Academy 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 | 91% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 85% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 367 |
| 2023/24 | 367 |
| 2024/25 | 366 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rooks Nest Academy compares
Rooks Nest Academy ranked 14th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 94% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 85% | 5.9% | 15.5% | 368 | — |
| Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane | 72% | 3.9% | 13.9% | 456 | 0.3 miles |
| Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate | 90% | 3.4% | 7% | 438 | 0.6 miles |
| Newton Hill Community School | 84% | 4.9% | 10% | 338 | 0.7 miles |
| Stanley Grove Primary and Nursery Academy | 87% | 5.3% | 11.2% | 233 | 0.9 miles |
| Stanley St Peters Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 87% | 4.9% | 26.2% | 298 | 0.9 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)
- 15.48%
- English as an additional language
- 7.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.92%
- Persistent absence
- 17.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane0.3 miles
Primary · Wakefield
-
Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate0.6 miles
Primary · Wakefield
-
Newton Hill Community School0.7 miles
Primary · Wakefield
-
Stanley Grove Primary and Nursery Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Wakefield
-
Stanley St Peters Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Wakefield
Other schools in Wakefield
Rooks Nest Academy ranks 8th of the 50 ranked primary schools in Wakefield.
- Alverthorpe St Paul's CofE (VA) School 3-11yrs Primary
- Blackgates Primary Academy Primary
- Carlton Primary School Primary
- Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School Primary
- Crigglestone Mackie Hill Junior and Infant School Primary
- Crigglestone St James CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Crofton Infant School Primary
- Crofton Junior School Primary
- East Ardsley Primary Academy Primary
- English Martyrs Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Primary
- Flockton CofE (C) First School Primary
- Grange Moor Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Rooks Nest Academy teach?
- Rooks Nest Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Wakefield.
- Who is the headteacher of Rooks Nest Academy?
- The headteacher of Rooks Nest Academy is Ms Kimberley Dawson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Rooks Nest Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rooks Nest Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Rooks Nest Academy?
- Rooks Nest Academy has 368 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Rooks Nest Academy full?
- Rooks Nest Academy has capacity for 315 pupils and 368 on roll (117%), so it is at or above 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 Rooks Nest Academy a faith school?
- No. Rooks Nest Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Rooks Nest Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Rooks Nest Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Rooks Nest Academy?
- Rooks Nest Academy is part of ROOKS NEST ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Rooks Nest Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 91% in 2022/23 and 85% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rooks Nest Academy rank locally?
- Rooks Nest Academy ranked 14th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 94% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Rooks Nest Academy's absence rate?
- Rooks Nest Academy's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rooks Nest Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rooks Nest Academy'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 1 July 2026.