Highburton CofE First Academy
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Highburton CofE First Academy is a converter academy in Huddersfield for boys and girls aged 4 to 10. It has 161 pupils and room for 180. About 7 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 93 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 100% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Northfield Lane, Highburton, Huddersfield, HD8 0QT01484 506526highburtonfirst.org.ukMr Chris Johnson headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 12 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference.
In 2025 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2025. Every child who applied got a place (24 offers for 30 places).
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.3 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (5), language and communications needs (3), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Specific learning difficulty (2), emotional and mental health (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 161 | 173 | 172 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 7% | 6% | 4% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 5% | 8% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 97.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 2.9% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 4.8% | 2.7% | 2.4% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 1.9% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 1.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 0.4% | 0.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 2.7% | 2.7% | 3.3% | 4.6% | 5.7% | 2.0% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Highburton Church of England Voluntary Controlled First School, the school this one replaced in September 2023. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkburton Middle School | Academy | 850 m | 495 | Report card 2026 | 69 | Compare |
| Kirkburton CofE (VA) First School | Church of England | 0.7 miles | 117 | Report card 2026 | 37 | Compare |
| Rowley Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School | Council | 0.8 miles | 422 | Not inspected | 74 | Compare |
| Lepton CofE Primary Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 167 | Good 2023 | 75 | Compare |
| Shelley First School | Academy | 1.6 miles | 159 | Good 2023 | 67 | Compare |
| Farnley Tyas Church of England Voluntary Controlled First School | Church of England | 2.0 miles | 56 | Good 2023 | 83 | Compare |
| Hill View Academy | Academy | 2.1 miles | 216 | Good 2023 | 37 | Compare |
| Grange Moor Primary School | Academy | 2.2 miles | – | No overall grade 2024 | – | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Highburton CofE First Academy with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 93 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 93% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 83 to 98. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | above | +0.37 | Ofsted report card, 0.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well above | +0.46 | 2024/25; 148 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Highburton CofE First Academy a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Highburton CofE First Academy scores 93 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 100% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 83 to 98, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Highburton CofE First Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 12 May 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as strong.
How many pupils does Highburton CofE First Academy have?
161 pupils aged 4 to 10 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 89% full.
Is Highburton CofE First Academy oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at Highburton CofE First Academy?
Pupils were in school 97.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 3% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Highburton CofE First Academy?
The average class had 26.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 17% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Northfield Lane, Highburton, Huddersfield, HD8 0QT
- Telephone
- 01484 506526
- Website
- www.highburtonfirst.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Chris Johnson
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-10
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Leeds (ce)
- Multi-academy trust
- Enhance Academy Trust (17 schools)
- Local authority
- Kirklees
- Ward
- Kirkburton
- Constituency
- Ossett and Denby Dale
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2023 (academy converter)
- URN
- 149941 · LAESTAB 3823023 · UKPRN 10092895
- Formerly
- Highburton Church of England Voluntary Controlled First School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Kirklees council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2024, 2025.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.