Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy
Cobblers Lane, Pontefract, WF8 2HN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Cade
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Sponsor
- Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 199
- URN
- 141594
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977798303
About this school
Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 199 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 28 September 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 | 29 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 45% | 35% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 72% | 58% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 59% | 54% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 69% | 42% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.30 | - | - |
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 Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A 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 | Wakefield average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 45% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 35% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 202 |
| 2023/24 | 195 |
| 2024/25 | 196 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy compares
Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 94th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35% | 8.3% | 28.1% | 199 | — |
| Cherry Tree Academy | 49% | 7.4% | 50% | 233 | 0.1 miles |
| De Lacy Primary School | 80% | 4.6% | 51.9% | 342 | 0.4 miles |
| St Giles C of E Academy | 78% | 5.1% | 22.3% | 337 | 0.9 miles |
| Orchard Head Junior and Infant and Nursery School | 89% | 4.4% | 20.4% | 335 | 0.9 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)
- 28.06%
- English as an additional language
- 11.2%
- Overall absence
- 8.29%
- Persistent absence
- 25.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cherry Tree Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
De Lacy Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
St Giles C of E Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Orchard Head Junior and Infant and Nursery School0.9 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School1.0 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Pontefract
Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy ranks 30th 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 Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy teach?
- Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the headteacher of Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Mrs Claire Cade, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A 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 Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has 199 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy full?
- Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 199 on roll (95%), 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 Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Does Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy 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 Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 35% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 94th of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A 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.