Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School
Primary · Academy converter · Mixed · Wakefield
Halfpenny Lane, Pontefract, WF8 4BW
88
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Not judged
Graded 20/05/2025
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
96.3%
7.5% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
434
Capacity used
Over capacity103%
420 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
37 of 37 families who put it first got an offer
49
Places offered
103
Total applications
2.1
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 37 | 37 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 21 | 6 | ● 29% |
| 3rd preference | 18 | 2 | ● 11% |
| Later preferences (4th–5th) | 27 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 103 | 45 | 44% |
1st preference success by year
Wakefield lets families list 5 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Age range
- 3–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Ian Shuttleworth
- Address
- Halfpenny Lane, Pontefract, WF8 4BW
- Phone
- 01977703270
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Ward / constituency
- Pontefract North · Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 139502
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 21% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 5% | — | — |
| SEN support | 12% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ARK SCHOOLS
434 pupils · 420 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
20 May 2025
Full graded inspection
Not judged overall effectivenessEarly years Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding - 24
25 April 2024
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 361 pupils
Attendance
96.3%
Share of sessions attended · England 94.5%
Overall absence
3.7%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 5.5%
Persistent absence
7.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 14.6%
Severe absence
0.3%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.0%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
Primary results (Key Stage 2)
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 88% | — | — |
| Higher standard | 28% | — | — |
| Reading progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Writing progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Maths progress | — | — | 0.0 |
Primary results by subject (SATs)
Year 6 pupils meeting each standard, against England
Reading, writing & maths combined
Reading
Writing
Maths
Grammar, punctuation & spelling
Science
England average · Scaled scores run 80–120 (100 = expected standard).
Primary results over time
Expected standard (RWM) by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Expected standard (RWM) | 93% | 61% |
| Higher standard | 26% | 8% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Wakefield council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Reception (primary) | 15 January | 16 April (or next working day) |
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.