Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School
Halfpenny Lane, Pontefract, WF8 4BW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Head of School
- Mr Ian Shuttleworth
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 434
- URN
- 139502
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977703270
About this school
Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School is a primary academy in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 434 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary 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
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 | 60 | 60 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 90% | 88% | 93% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 17% | 28% | 26% |
| Expected standard in reading | 95% | 95% | 97% |
| Expected standard in maths | 92% | 93% | 95% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 92% | 95% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 112.0 | 112.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 111.0 | 110.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +8.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +8.50 | - | - |
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 Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary 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 | 90% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 88% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 93% | 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 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 459 |
| 2023/24 | 443 |
| 2024/25 | 437 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School compares
Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School ranked 3rd of 97 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 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 93% | 3.7% | 24% | 434 | — |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract | 77% | 4.7% | 10.4% | 222 | 0.4 miles |
| Ark Larks Hill Primary School | 97% | 2.4% | 6.4% | 203 | 0.6 miles |
| St Giles C of E Academy | 78% | 5.1% | 22.3% | 337 | 0.7 miles |
| Ark Carleton Park Primary School | 87% | 3.2% | 21.7% | 208 | 0.9 miles |
| Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School | 42% | 5.2% | 23.8% | 338 | 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.03%
- English as an additional language
- 6.4%
- Overall absence
- 3.68%
- Persistent absence
- 7.48%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract0.4 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Ark Larks Hill Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
St Giles C of E Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Ark Carleton Park Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School1.0 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Pontefract
Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School ranks 2nd 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
- Ark Carleton Park Primary School Primary
- Ark De Lacy Primary School Primary
- Ark Larks Hill Primary School Primary
- Ark Northfield Primary School Primary
- Ark Orchard Head Primary School Primary
- Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School Primary
- Ash Grove Primary Academy Primary
- Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Cherry Tree Academy Primary
- Darrington Church of England Primary School Primary
Recorded changes at this school
- School name changed from Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School to Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School recorded 22 Sep 2026
Common questions
- What ages does Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School teach?
- Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the head of school of Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School?
- The head of school of Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School is Mr Ian Shuttleworth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary 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 Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School?
- Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School has 434 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School full?
- Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 434 on roll (103%), 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 Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School a faith school?
- No. Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School is part of ARK SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 90% in 2022/23 and 93% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School compare with other schools in Wakefield?
- Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School ranked 3rd of 97 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 91% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School's absence rate?
- Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary 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 22 September 2026.