St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe
Barnsley Road, Moorthorpe, Pontefract, WF9 2BP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kelly Picton
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Normanton and Hemsworth
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 230
- Pupils on roll
- 204
- URN
- 140558
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977651755
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 204 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 30 June 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
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 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 57% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 63% | 67% | 59% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 73% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 80% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.40 | - | - |
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 St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe 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 | 57% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 199 |
| 2023/24 | 207 |
| 2024/25 | 213 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe ranked 68th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 5.5% | 32.3% | 204 | — |
| Moorthorpe Primary School With Inclusion Resource | 35% | 5.7% | 45.5% | 216 | 0.1 miles |
| South Elmsall Carlton Junior and Infant School | 51% | 6.9% | 36.6% | 454 | 0.4 miles |
| Ash Grove Primary Academy | 48% | 7.3% | 35% | 265 | 0.7 miles |
| Northfield Primary School | 83% | 3.7% | 25.8% | 348 | 0.8 miles |
| South Kirkby Academy | 32% | 6.3% | 49% | 186 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 32.31%
- English as an additional language
- 37.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.48%
- Persistent absence
- 16.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Moorthorpe Primary School With Inclusion Resource0.1 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
South Elmsall Carlton Junior and Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Ash Grove Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Northfield Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
South Kirkby Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Pontefract
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe ranks 20th 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 ages does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe is Mrs Kelly Picton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe, 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 St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe has 204 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe has capacity for 230 pupils and 204 on roll (89%), 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 St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe as having nursery classes.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe part of an academy trust?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe is part of THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe compare with other schools in Wakefield?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe ranked 68th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe'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.