Primary schools are often the heart of their community, teaching their youngest residents the skills they will need to succeed in their school years and beyond. And there are plenty of excellent schools across West Yorkshire that are setting their pupils up for success.
The Government’s new preliminary performance figures for state-funded primary schools were released this month. From this data, we’ve been able to compare how the county’s state primary schools performed in the most recent school year.
The key figure it’s based on is the percentage of each school’s pupils who completed Year 6 in the 2024/25 academic year who met the Government’s expected standards in three key areas: reading, writing and maths. We’ve included every school across the Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield council areas with a score of 90% and above.
But grades aren’t the only way to measure school success. We’ve also made sure each one on our league table had a positive mark in its latest Ofsted inspection. These are soon set to change, but we’ve restricted the list to schools with either a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one.
This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management and student safeguarding were all found to meet or exceed government standards last time the school was inspected.
Here are the 23 state primary schools in West Yorkshire that came out on top.
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1. Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
This local authority-maintained Anglican primary school in the Leeds district was most recently rated 'good' overall by Ofsted. In the 2024/25 school year, it had a roll size of 100 pupils.100% of its Year 6 pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to averages of 61% locally and 62% nationally. | Google
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2. Larks Hill Junior and Infant School
This primary academy in Pontefract, in the Wakefield district, was found to be 'outstanding' across all categories in a recent Ofsted inspection. In the 2024/25 school year, it had a roll size of 202 pupils. 97% of its Year 6 pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to averages of 63% locally and 62% nationally. | Google
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3. Carlton Junior and Infant School
This local authority-maintained primary school in Dewsbury, Kirklees, was most recently rated 'good' overall by Ofsted. In the 2024/25 school year, it had a roll size of 216 pupils. 97% of its Year 6 pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to averages of 61% locally and 62% nationally. | National World
4. St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy
This Roman Catholic primary academy in Halifax, Calderdale, was found to be 'good' across all categories in a recent Ofsted inspection. In the 2024/25 school year, it had a roll size of 146 pupils. 95% of its Year 6 pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to averages of 62% locally and 62% nationally. | Google
5. Ossett Southdale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School
This local authority-maintained primary school in Ossett, in the Wakefield district, was found to be 'outstanding' across all categories in a recent Ofsted inspection. In the 2024/25 school year, it had a roll size of 342 pupils. 94% of its Year 6 pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to averages of 63% locally and 62% nationally. | Google Photo: s
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6. Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School
This primary academy in Pontefract, in the Wakefield district, was found to be 'outstanding' across all categories in a recent Ofsted inspection. In the 2024/25 school year, it had a roll size of 437 pupils. 93% of its Year 6 pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to averages of 63% locally and 62% nationally. | Google