Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy
St Peter's Avenue, Sowerby Bridge, HX6 1BL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BLESSED PETER SNOW CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Alexandra Hudson-Crook
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Constituency
- Halifax
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 175
- Pupils on roll
- 150
- URN
- 141479
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01422831360
About this school
Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Sowerby Bridge. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 150 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 November 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 | 22 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 55% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 68% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 64% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 77% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
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 Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary 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 | Calderdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57% | 59.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 55% | 57.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 60.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 195 |
| 2023/24 | 177 |
| 2024/25 | 163 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 49th of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 5.7% | 39.3% | 150 | — |
| New Road Primary School | 47% | 5.5% | 37.9% | 182 | 0.2 miles |
| Trinity Academy St Peter's | 71% | 6.6% | 45.5% | 94 | 0.6 miles |
| Triangle CofE VC Primary School | 61% | 3.3% | 13.4% | 173 | 0.8 miles |
| Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School | 68% | 5.6% | 41.7% | 70 | 0.9 miles |
| Norland CE School | 80% | 3.6% | 17.5% | 61 | 0.9 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)
- 39.26%
- English as an additional language
- 0.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.74%
- Persistent absence
- 13.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
New Road Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
-
Trinity Academy St Peter's0.6 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
-
Triangle CofE VC Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
-
Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
-
Norland CE School0.9 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
Other schools in Sowerby Bridge
Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy ranks 9th of the 10 ranked primary schools in Sowerby Bridge.
- Bolton Brow Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School Primary
- New Road Primary School Primary
- Norland CE School Primary
- Ripponden Junior and Infant School Primary
- St John's Primary School In Rishworth Primary
- St Mary's CofE (VC) J and I School Primary
- Triangle CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Trinity Academy St Peter's Primary
- Ryburn Valley High School Secondary
- Trinity Academy Grammar Secondary
- Rishworth School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Sowerby Bridge.
- Who is the headteacher of Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mrs Alexandra Hudson-Crook, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy has 150 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 175 pupils and 150 on roll (86%), 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Does Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of BLESSED PETER SNOW CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy'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 60% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 49th of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary 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.