Larks Hill Junior and Infant School
Larks Hill, Pontefract, WF8 4RJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PONTEFRACT ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Beevers
- Sponsor
- Pontefract Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 203
- URN
- 139499
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977722845
About this school
Larks Hill Junior and Infant School is a primary academy in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 203 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
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 | 28 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 93% | 93% | 97% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 37% | 39% | 53% |
| Expected standard in reading | 97% | 93% | 100% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 93% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 93% | 93% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 112.0 | 111.0 | 112.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 109.0 | 112.0 |
| Reading progress | +6.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +6.40 | - | - |
| 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 Larks Hill Junior and Infant 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 | 93% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 93% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 97% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 210 |
| 2023/24 | 208 |
| 2024/25 | 202 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Larks Hill Junior and Infant School compares
Larks Hill Junior and Infant School ranked 1st of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 100% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 97% | 2.4% | 6.4% | 203 | — |
| Carleton Park Junior and Infant School | 87% | 3.2% | 21.7% | 208 | 0.4 miles |
| Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School | 93% | 3.7% | 24% | 434 | 0.6 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract | 77% | 4.7% | 10.4% | 222 | 0.7 miles |
| St Giles C of E Academy | 78% | 5.1% | 22.3% | 337 | 1.0 miles |
| The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School | 73% | 3.7% | 20.9% | 330 | 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)
- 6.44%
- English as an additional language
- 1%
- Overall absence
- 2.38%
- Persistent absence
- 2.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Carleton Park Junior and Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School0.6 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract0.7 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
St Giles C of E Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School1.0 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Pontefract
Larks Hill Junior and Infant School ranks 1st 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 year groups does Larks Hill Junior and Infant School teach?
- Larks Hill Junior and Infant School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the headteacher of Larks Hill Junior and Infant School?
- The headteacher of Larks Hill Junior and Infant School is Mr Richard Beevers, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Larks Hill Junior and Infant School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Larks Hill Junior and Infant 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 big is Larks Hill Junior and Infant School?
- Larks Hill Junior and Infant School has 203 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Larks Hill Junior and Infant School full?
- Larks Hill Junior and Infant School has capacity for 210 pupils and 203 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Larks Hill Junior and Infant School a faith school?
- No. Larks Hill Junior and Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does Larks Hill Junior and Infant School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Larks Hill Junior and Infant School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Larks Hill Junior and Infant School?
- Larks Hill Junior and Infant School is part of PONTEFRACT ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Larks Hill Junior and Infant School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 93% in 2022/23 and 97% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Larks Hill Junior and Infant School rank locally?
- Larks Hill Junior and Infant School ranked 1st of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 100% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Larks Hill Junior and Infant School's absence rate?
- Larks Hill Junior and Infant School's overall absence rate is 2.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Larks Hill Junior and Infant School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Larks Hill Junior and Infant 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 1 July 2026.