Schools in Pontefract

About schools in Pontefract

Pontefract lists 46 schools, most of them primary schools. Its six secondary schools are where families compare options once a child finishes primary. Older students can carry on at one sixth form or college.

Ofsted inspects every school listed here. Its newer reports judge a school across several areas rather than giving one overall grade, while older reports still carry the previous single grade, so read the framework and the date on each page before you set two schools side by side. Where results have been published you will also find key stage 2 scores for the primary schools and Attainment 8 for the secondary schools. An inspection or a results table captures a school at one past moment, so use this page to draw up a shortlist and then visit.

Key stage 2, 2024/25

62%

of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, across the 33 schools with published results

Key stage 4, 2024/25

44.5

average Attainment 8 score, across the 7 schools with published results

Nursery schools1

• Harewood Centre Nursery School

  Local authority nursery school · Ages 2 to 4

Primary schools36

The figure beside a school is the share of its pupils who reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

• Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School

  Voluntary controlled school · Ages 3 to 11

  80%

  expected standard
• Ackworth Mill Dam School

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  68%

  expected standard
• Ash Grove Primary Academy

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 3 to 11

  48%

  expected standard
• Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School

  Voluntary controlled school · Ages 4 to 11

  73%

  expected standard
• Carleton Park Junior and Infant School

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 4 to 11

  87%

  expected standard
• Cherry Tree Academy

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 3 to 11

  49%

  expected standard
• Darrington Church of England Primary School

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  64%

  expected standard
• De Lacy Primary School

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 3 to 11

  80%

  expected standard
• Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  71%

  expected standard
• Featherstone Girnhill Infant School

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 7

• Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School

  Community school · Ages 3 to 11

  42%

  expected standard
• Featherstone Purston Infant School

  Community school · Ages 3 to 7

• Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

  Voluntary controlled school · Ages 7 to 11

  46%

  expected standard
• Fitzwilliam Primary School

  Academy converter · Ages 2 to 11

  50%

  expected standard
• Grove Lea Primary School

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  77%

  expected standard
• Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  93%

  expected standard
• Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

  Academy converter · Ages 4 to 11

  35%

  expected standard
• King's Meadow Academy

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  45%

  expected standard
• Kirk Smeaton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

  Voluntary controlled school · Ages 3 to 11

  75%

  expected standard
• Larks Hill Junior and Infant School

  Academy converter · Ages 4 to 11

  97%

  expected standard
• Moorthorpe Primary School With Inclusion Resource

  Community school · Ages 3 to 11

  35%

  expected standard
• Northfield Primary School

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 3 to 11

  83%

  expected standard
• Orchard Head Junior and Infant and Nursery School

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  89%

  expected standard
• Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  83%

  expected standard
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

  Academy converter · Ages 4 to 11

  30%

  expected standard
• South Elmsall Carlton Junior and Infant School

  Community school · Ages 3 to 11

  51%

  expected standard
• South Kirkby Academy

  Academy converter · Ages 7 to 11

  32%

  expected standard
• South Kirkby Common Road Infant and Nursery School

  Community school · Ages 3 to 7

• St Giles C of E Academy

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  78%

  expected standard
• St Helen's CE Primary School

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 3 to 11

  58%

  expected standard
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  77%

  expected standard
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 3 to 11

  55%

  expected standard
• Streethouse Junior, Infant and Nursery School

  Community school · Ages 2 to 11

  40%

  expected standard
• The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School

  Academy converter · Ages 3 to 11

  73%

  expected standard
• Upton Primary School

  Community school · Ages 3 to 11

  47%

  expected standard
• West End Academy

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 3 to 11

  73%

  expected standard

Secondary schools6

The figure beside a school is its average Attainment 8 score (out of 90) in 2024/25.

• Carleton High School

  Academy converter · Ages 11 to 16

  47.5

  Attainment 8
• Minsthorpe Community College

  Academy converter · Ages 11 to 18

  41.3

  Attainment 8
• Outwood Academy Hemsworth

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 11 to 18

  41.0

  Attainment 8
• St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy

  Academy converter · Ages 11 to 18

  46.7

  Attainment 8
• The Featherstone Academy

  Academy sponsor led · Ages 11 to 16

  41.6

  Attainment 8
• The King's School

  Academy converter · Ages 11 to 16

  49.9

  Attainment 8

Sixth forms and colleges1

• New College Pontefract

  Academy 16-19 converter · Ages 16 to 19

Special schools and alternative provision2

• High Well School

  Community special school · Ages 9 to 16

• Oakfield Park School

  Community special school · Ages 11 to 19

Common questions about schools in Pontefract

How many schools does Pontefract have?

OfferDay lists 46 schools in Pontefract, including 36 primary schools and six secondary schools.

Who inspects schools in Pontefract?

Every school in Pontefract is inspected by Ofsted. Newer reports grade several areas of a school separately on a report card, while older reports carry a single overall grade, so check the framework and the date on each page before you compare two schools.

How are schools in Pontefract ranked?

OfferDay ranks schools in Pontefract where the Department for Education has published results, by key stage 2 scores for primary schools and Attainment 8 for secondary schools. The ranking links are near the top of this page. A results table only captures one part of a school, so use it to draw up a shortlist and then visit.

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. Information on this page was last updated on 15 July 2026.