A council (local authority) in Yorkshire and the Humber
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Wakefield at a glance
How Wakefield's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
113 mainstream schools in Wakefield, best first
Results well above the England average.
29 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1197%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
34 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
37 first choices, 39 offers made
Met the standard at 1190%
England 62%
18 mainstream schools in Wakefield, best first
Results close to the England average.
291 first choices, 280 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.8
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
311 first choices, 196 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.9
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
188 first choices, 207 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.8
England 46.2
75 in Wakefield, highest Ofsted grade first
Castleford, WF10 3QJ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Castleford, WF10 3RW · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Castleford, WF10 4EW · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
14 in Wakefield, by the school's Eduscope score
Pontefract, WF7 6BD · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Results close to the England average.
263 first choices, 272 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.1
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
291 first choices, 354 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.2
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
236 first choices, 292 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.8
England 46.2
14 in Wakefield. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Wakefield, WF3 4BA · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Pontefract, WF7 7DT · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Knottingley, WF11 8NE · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
12 in Wakefield. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Knottingley, WF11 8NE · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wakefield, WF4 4JG · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wakefield, WF2 0QB · Independent · Primary · Ages 5 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Wakefield is a metropolitan borough in Yorkshire and the Humber with 113 mainstream primary schools and 18 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Wakefield, Castleford and Pontefract. 90.7% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Wakefield council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions@wakefield.gov.uk · 01924 306 052
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
94.4%got their first-choice primary school in Wakefield in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 50 of 151 councils. 99.0% got one of their top three.2.4% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
90.7%got their first-choice secondary school in Wakefield in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 41 of 151 councils. 97.3% got one of their top three.4.1% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
13 of 82 primary appeals heard in Wakefield succeeded in 2025. 23 of 155 secondary appeals heard in Wakefield succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Wakefield school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 60 inspected are Good or better.
75nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
93% Good or better. 63% met the standard at 11.
126schools
Ages 11 to 16
8 Good, 1 need to improve. 48% got grade 5 in English and maths.
34schools
2 Outstanding, 5 Good, 1 need to improve. About 6 pupils per teacher.
14schools
Here's how Wakefield's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Wakefield average, 49.
Average primary score
48Wakefield 49
Average primary score
34Wakefield 49
Average primary score
67Wakefield 49
Average primary score
33Wakefield 49
Average primary score
26Wakefield 49
Average primary score
66Wakefield 49
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
WakefieldEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 83 primaries with one.
93%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
8 of the 9 with a grade.
89%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
63%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
48%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
20%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
24%
Latest graded inspection for the 106 schools that have one.
92%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Wakefield in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Wakefield | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 93% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 63% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.8 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 20% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 19.4:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,256 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 89% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 49% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 20% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 13% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 27% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 384, ONS code E08000036.
Wakefield has 228 schools and nurseries across 12 towns and villages, the biggest being Wakefield, Castleford, Pontefract and Ossett.
There are 4% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
24% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Wakefield's state schools each January.
Up 4% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Wakefield24%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Wakefield has 228 schools, including 126 primary schools, 34 secondary schools, 75 nurseries, 12 independent schools, 14 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Wakefield on Eduscope are Ark Larks Hill Primary School, Ark Carleton Park Primary School, Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
93% of inspected schools in Wakefield hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 10 schools rated Outstanding and 88 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Wakefield, 63% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Wakefield is 19.4:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Wakefield is 19.5%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 54,391 pupils enrolled across schools in Wakefield, with 31,717 in primary and 21,917 in secondary. 26.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 12 independent schools in Wakefield, all special schools for children with special educational needs, where councils usually pay the fees. You can compare them on Eduscope, including inspection reports where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 228 schools in Wakefield by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
