The Vale Primary Academy
Ferrybridge Road, Knottingley, WF11 8JF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST
- Head of Academy
- Sally Cartwright
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Delta Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 218
- URN
- 138332
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977722485
About this school
The Vale Primary Academy is a primary academy in Knottingley. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 218 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Vale Primary Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 30 | 27 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 74% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 89% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 74% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 81% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 108.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.80 | - | - |
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 The Vale Primary 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 | 77% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 239 |
| 2023/24 | 217 |
| 2024/25 | 218 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Vale Primary Academy compares
The Vale Primary Academy ranked 28th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 4.8% | 22.7% | 218 | — |
| Simpson's Lane Academy | 84% | 5.2% | 57.7% | 387 | 0.5 miles |
| England Lane Academy | 85% | 5.9% | 49.5% | 225 | 0.8 miles |
| Willow Green Academy | 63% | 5% | 29.5% | 228 | 0.8 miles |
| St Botolphs CE Academy | 65% | 5.8% | 30.7% | 281 | 0.9 miles |
| Brotherton and Byram Community Primary Academy | 48% | 6.2% | 33.3% | 185 | 1.0 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)
- 22.68%
- English as an additional language
- 11.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.78%
- Persistent absence
- 12.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Simpson's Lane Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
England Lane Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
Willow Green Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
St Botolphs CE Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
Brotherton and Byram Community Primary Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Knottingley
Other schools in Knottingley
The Vale Primary Academy ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked primary schools in Knottingley.
- Brotherton and Byram Community Primary Academy Primary
- England Lane Academy Primary
- Fairburn Community Primary School Primary
- Simpson's Lane Academy Primary
- St Botolphs CE Academy Primary
- Willow Green Academy Primary
- De Lacy Academy Secondary
- Balance Alternative Provision Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does The Vale Primary Academy teach?
- The Vale Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Knottingley.
- Who is the head of academy of The Vale Primary Academy?
- The head of academy of The Vale Primary Academy is Sally Cartwright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Vale Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Vale Primary 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 many pupils are at The Vale Primary Academy?
- The Vale Primary Academy has 218 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Vale Primary Academy full?
- The Vale Primary Academy has capacity for 236 pupils and 218 on roll (92%), 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 The Vale Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. The Vale Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does The Vale Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Vale Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is The Vale Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Vale Primary Academy is part of DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Vale Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 77% in 2022/23 and 76% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Vale Primary Academy compare with other schools in Wakefield?
- The Vale Primary Academy ranked 28th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Vale Primary Academy's absence rate?
- The Vale Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Vale Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Vale Primary 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.