School Chooser

Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademy438 pupilsNurseryWakefield
School Chooser Score
98
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 96 to 99
Out of 100. Better than 98% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedOutstandingLast Ofsted inspection, April 2023
Reached the expected level at 1190%England 63%
Attendance96.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families7%Far fewer than most schools
Places26 spare438 pupils, 464 places
Pupils per teacher23.0School workforce census

Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate is a converter academy in Wakefield for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 438 pupils and room for 464. About 6 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 98 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 98% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.

Canal Lane, Lofthouse Gate, Wakefield, WF3 3HU01924 821160lofthousegate.outwood.comMrs Emma Cadman principalAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 19 April 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Outstanding overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Outstanding
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Outstanding
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
26 February 2020UngradedSchool remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

60 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1190%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level33%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score107.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score109.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 78%78%20172018: 90%90%20182019: 92%92%20192023: 81%81%20232024: 75%75%20242025: 90%90%2025
Since 2017: +12%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017WakefieldEngland
Pupils tested606159606060
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths90%75%81%92%90%78%65%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths33%28%27%33%15%25%9%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score107.0107.0107.0109.0108.0106.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score109.0109.0107.0110.0107.0108.0104.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0108.0106.0110.0109.0108.0104.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard93%77%85%97%93%82%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard97%90%83%98%92%88%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)93%87%95%97%93%95%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.1+2.0+1.2+1.5
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.5+2.1+1.5+3.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged100%67%43%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged89%84%83%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
100%89%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
84%93%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%33%
Gap 33 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full414 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
99% full

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. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Wakefield council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

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.

Pupils on roll438Census January 2026
Places46494% full
Pupils from low-income families6%7% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English8%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support7%31 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%8 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.911 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)6%£35,650 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls213 / 225
White British pupils80%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 28.2 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (16), language and communications needs (9), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), Hearing impairment (4), Specific learning difficulty (2), Severe learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll438457451462473472
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals6%6%6%4%4%5%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language8%7%4%5%5%5%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support6%5%5%5%3%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%2%3%2%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school4.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.1%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.4%4.0%3.9%4.7%2.7%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.4%2.9%2.9%3.7%1.9%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.1%1.1%1.0%1.0%0.7%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence4.1%7.6%6.1%7.7%4.7%5.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.41.10.21.1
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers18.5full-time equivalent, 22 people
Pupils per teacher23.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,702
Teachers who left in the year16%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.22024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£5,575England £7,128. Total £2.4m
Income per pupil£5,848England £7,587. Total £2.5m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,051England £3,405
Money in reserve24%A lot put by: £613k, £1,410 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£119kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,575spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m8312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate39 per 1,000 people57% lower than the England average
Typical house price£200,000Wakefield
Nearest bus stop50 mCanal Lane Baker Ln, 21 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Rooks Nest AcademyAcademy950 m368Good 202385Compare
Stanley St Peters Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolChurch of England0.6 miles298Report card 202694Compare
Outwood Primary Academy Ledger LaneAcademy0.7 miles456Not inspected80Compare
Stanley Grove Primary and Nursery AcademyAcademy1.0 miles233Good 202089Compare
Newton Hill Community SchoolCouncil1.3 miles338Good 202482Compare
Robin Hood Primary SchoolCouncil1.6 miles420Good 202363Compare
Carlton Primary SchoolCouncil1.6 miles323Good 202044Compare
Wrenthorpe AcademyAcademy1.6 miles314Not inspected39Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats98%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 98 is 26 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 11 · middle 72 · highest 98100

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 98 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 98% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 96 to 99. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%well above
+0.32
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 60 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)well above
+0.41
Ofsted grade, 3.4 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.11
DfE progress measure; 60 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.06
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.13
2024/25; 368 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.16
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 60 pupils
What parents say0%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 Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate scores 98 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 98% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 96 to 99, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate outstanding at its last full inspection on 19 April 2023.

How good are Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 90% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 33% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate have?

438 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 464 places, so it is 94% full.

Is Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate?

Pupils were in school 96.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 4% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate?

The average class had 28.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
Canal Lane, Lofthouse Gate, Wakefield, WF3 3HU
Telephone
01924 821160
Website
www.lofthousegate.outwood.com
Principal
Mrs Emma Cadman
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Outwood Grange Academies Trust (40 schools)
Local authority
Wakefield
Ward
Stanley and Outwood East
Constituency
Wakefield and Rothwell
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2013 (academy converter)
URN
140085 · LAESTAB 3842078 · UKPRN 10043580
Formerly
Lofthouse Gate Primary School

Where these figures come from