Knavesmire Primary School
Trafalgar Street, York, YO23 1HY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EXCEL LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Adam Cooper
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Excel Learning Trust
- Constituency
- York Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 484
- URN
- 142760
- Local authority
- York
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01904806545
About this school
Knavesmire Primary School is a primary academy in York. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 484 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 | 62 | 62 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 82% | 92% | 84% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 19% | 21% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 94% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 95% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 95% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.10 | - | - |
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 Knavesmire 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 | York average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 82% | 63.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 92% | 61.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 84% | 61.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 471 |
| 2023/24 | 482 |
| 2024/25 | 486 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Knavesmire Primary School compares
Knavesmire Primary School ranked 3rd of 47 primary schools in York for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 84% | 3.3% | 9.1% | 484 | — |
| Scarcroft Primary School | 75% | 3.6% | 14.2% | 347 | 0.6 miles |
| St George's Catholic Primary School - a Catholic Voluntary Academy | 72% | 5.2% | 26.6% | 204 | 0.8 miles |
| Fishergate Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 23.9% | 291 | 0.8 miles |
| St Paul's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 54% | 4.7% | 14% | 168 | 0.9 miles |
| Dringhouses Primary School | 70% | 4.3% | 9.7% | 312 | 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)
- 9.09%
- English as an additional language
- 11.7%
- Overall absence
- 3.26%
- Persistent absence
- 5.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Scarcroft Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · York
- 0.8 miles
-
Fishergate Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · York
- 0.9 miles
-
Dringhouses Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · York
Other schools in York
Knavesmire Primary School ranks 12th of the 93 ranked primary schools in York.
- Acomb Primary School Primary
- Appleton Roebuck Primary School Primary
- Archbishop of York's CofE Junior School, Bishopthorpe Primary
- Badger Hill Primary Academy Primary
- Barlby Bridge Community Primary School Primary
- Barmby Moor Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bishop Wilton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Bishopthorpe Infant School Primary
- Boroughbridge Primary School Primary
- Bugthorpe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Burton Green Primary School Primary
- Carr Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Knavesmire Primary School teach?
- Knavesmire Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in York.
- Who is the headteacher of Knavesmire Primary School?
- The headteacher of Knavesmire Primary School is Mr Adam Cooper, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Knavesmire Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Knavesmire 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 big is Knavesmire Primary School?
- Knavesmire Primary School has 484 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Knavesmire Primary School full?
- Knavesmire Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 484 on roll (115%), 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 Knavesmire Primary School a faith school?
- No. Knavesmire Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Knavesmire Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Knavesmire Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Knavesmire Primary School?
- Knavesmire Primary School is part of EXCEL LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Knavesmire Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 82% in 2022/23 and 84% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Knavesmire Primary School rank locally?
- Knavesmire Primary School ranked 3rd of 47 primary schools in York for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Knavesmire Primary School's absence rate?
- Knavesmire Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Knavesmire Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Knavesmire 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 2 July 2026.