West Vale Academy
Stainland Road, West Vale, Halifax, HX4 8LS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- GREAT HEIGHTS ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Crowther
- Sponsor
- Great Heights Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Calder Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 182
- Pupils on roll
- 74
- URN
- 145571
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01422372804
About this school
West Vale Academy is a primary academy in Halifax. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 74 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected West Vale Academy, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 31 | 20 | 17 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 75% | 82% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 10% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 85% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 85% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 71% | 85% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.60 | - | - |
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 West Vale 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 | 58% | 59.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 57.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 82% | 60.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 127 |
| 2023/24 | 98 |
| 2024/25 | 84 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How West Vale Academy compares
West Vale Academy ranked 8th of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 90% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 82% | 6% | 46.4% | 74 | — |
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary Academy | 33% | 5.9% | 20.4% | 106 | 0.3 miles |
| Elland Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Junior, Infant and Nursery School | 12% | 5.4% | 66.4% | 138 | 0.6 miles |
| Cross Lane Primary and Nursery School | 64% | 5.3% | 38% | 309 | 0.7 miles |
| The Greetland Academy | 86% | 3.9% | 10.9% | 385 | 0.7 miles |
| All Saints' CofE Primary School | 77% | 3.3% | 7.6% | 208 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report25 November 2025
- 22 June 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 46.43%
- English as an additional language
- 4.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.97%
- Persistent absence
- 12.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Patrick's Catholic Primary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Elland
- 0.6 miles
-
Cross Lane Primary and Nursery School0.7 miles
Primary · Elland
-
The Greetland Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
All Saints' CofE Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Halifax
Other schools in Halifax
West Vale Academy ranks 5th of the 41 ranked primary schools in Halifax.
- Abbey Park Academy Primary
- All Saints' CofE Primary School Primary
- Ash Green Community Primary School Primary
- Barkisland CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill School Primary
- Bowling Green Academy Primary
- Bradshaw Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Pellon CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Cliffe Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Copley Primary School Primary
- Dean Field Community Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity Primary School, A Church of England Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does West Vale Academy teach?
- West Vale Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Halifax.
- Who is the headteacher of West Vale Academy?
- The headteacher of West Vale Academy is Mrs Helen Crowther, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has West Vale Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected West Vale 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 many pupils are at West Vale Academy?
- West Vale Academy has 74 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is West Vale Academy full?
- West Vale Academy has capacity for 182 pupils and 74 on roll (41%), 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 West Vale Academy a faith school?
- No. West Vale Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does West Vale Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records West Vale Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is West Vale Academy part of an academy trust?
- West Vale Academy is part of GREAT HEIGHTS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have West Vale Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 82% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does West Vale Academy compare with other schools in Calderdale?
- West Vale Academy ranked 8th of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 90% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is West Vale Academy's absence rate?
- West Vale Academy's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are West Vale Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, West Vale 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 10 July 2026.