Simpson's Lane Academy
Sycamore Avenue, Knottingley, WF11 0PJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DELTA ACADEMIES TRUST
- Head of Academy
- Mr Lee Colley
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Delta Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 577
- Pupils on roll
- 387
- URN
- 138535
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977722515
About this school
Simpson's Lane Academy is a primary academy in Knottingley. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 387 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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 | 52 | 52 | 44 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 77% | 84% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 12% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 79% | 83% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 83% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 81% | 82% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +5.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.60 | - | - |
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 Simpson's Lane 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 | 77% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 84% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 378 |
| 2023/24 | 397 |
| 2024/25 | 402 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Simpson's Lane Academy compares
Simpson's Lane Academy ranked 15th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 84% | 5.2% | 57.7% | 387 | — |
| The Vale Primary Academy | 76% | 4.8% | 22.7% | 218 | 0.5 miles |
| England Lane Academy | 85% | 5.9% | 49.5% | 225 | 0.7 miles |
| Willow Green Academy | 63% | 5% | 29.5% | 228 | 1.0 miles |
| St Botolphs CE Academy | 65% | 5.8% | 30.7% | 281 | 1.0 miles |
| Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy | 35% | 8.3% | 28.1% | 199 | 1.3 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 57.67%
- English as an additional language
- 11.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.17%
- Persistent absence
- 10.31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Vale Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
England Lane Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
Willow Green Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
St Botolphs CE Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Knottingley
-
Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Knottingley
Simpson's Lane Academy ranks 2nd of the 6 ranked primary schools in Knottingley.
- Brotherton and Byram Community Primary Academy Primary
- England Lane Academy Primary
- Fairburn Community Primary School Primary
- St Botolphs CE Academy Primary
- The Vale Primary Academy Primary
- Willow Green Academy Primary
- De Lacy Academy Secondary
- Balance Alternative Provision Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Simpson's Lane Academy teach?
- Simpson's Lane Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Knottingley.
- Who is the head of academy of Simpson's Lane Academy?
- The head of academy of Simpson's Lane Academy is Mr Lee Colley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Simpson's Lane Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Simpson's Lane 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 Simpson's Lane Academy?
- Simpson's Lane Academy has 387 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Simpson's Lane Academy full?
- Simpson's Lane Academy has capacity for 577 pupils and 387 on roll (67%), 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 Simpson's Lane Academy a faith school?
- No. Simpson's Lane Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Simpson's Lane Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Simpson's Lane Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Simpson's Lane Academy?
- Simpson's Lane 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 Simpson's Lane 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 84% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Simpson's Lane Academy rank locally?
- Simpson's Lane Academy ranked 15th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Simpson's Lane Academy's absence rate?
- Simpson's Lane Academy's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Simpson's Lane Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Simpson's Lane 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.