Hill Top Primary Academy, Wakefield
Hill Top Primary Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Wakefield, part of Leodis Academies Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 12th-highest of the 51 schools in Wakefield with published results, and 3,408th of 14,452 across England. It was 98% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Leeds (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Hill Top Primary Academy in detail
Hill Top Primary Academy in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Hill Top Primary Academy is a one-form entry community school in West Ardsley, part of Leodis Academies Trust. We are proud to be known as a caring and inclusive school and value the close community feeling of being one-form entry. Children are at the heart of everything we do."
Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 87% of Year 6 pupils at Hill Top Primary Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 83% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 76% in Leeds and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (83% in reading, 83% in maths).
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Hill Top Primary Academy
For September 2026 entry, 25 families put Hill Top Primary Academy as their first choice and 96 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Hill Top Primary Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Hill Top Primary Academy are Westerton Primary Academy (0.6 miles, Good, 83% reading, 80% maths); Blackgates Primary Academy (1.1 miles, Requires improvement, 74% reading, 68% maths); Lydgate Junior and Infant School (1.2 miles, Good, 77% reading, 84% maths); and Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School (1.2 miles, Requires improvement).
Hill Top Primary Academy's 2025 results were higher than all 3 of them.
Westerton Primary AcademyBlackgates Primary AcademyLydgate Junior and Infant SchoolShaw Cross Infant and Nursery School
The trust
Hill Top Primary Academy is one of 5 schools run by Leodis Academies Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
10.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 5.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (84%), Asian (7%) and Mixed (6%).
In 2026, 34 pupils (15.2%) received SEN support and 4 (1.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Batley Rail Station, about 1.8 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Croft, 80 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 40 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Leeds (229).
Suspensions and exclusions
Hill Top Primary Academy recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils love to attend this caring and inclusive school. They enjoy extremely positive relationships with adults. Pupils know that if they have a concern, they can turn to any adult for help. They flourish in this helpful environment. Pupils are proud to attend Hill Top Primary Academy.
The school has very high expectations for all pupils. Pupils rise to these expectations with enthusiasm. They achieve highly at the end of key stage 2. Pupils respond positively to the school's ambitious behaviour standards. They are excited to learn. Pupils respond quickly to instructions. They value the calm learning environment and behave exceptionally well.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Pupils are passionate about reading. They enjoy their class reading books. One pupil represented the views of many when they said, 'Reading is like a holiday for the mind.' Pupils in Year 4 discuss their class reading book, 'The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane', excitedly. They describe the story in depth and explain what they have learned from it. These pupils understand how, despite life taking different paths, home is always important.
Highly trained adults help pupils learn to read well. Pupils who struggle with reading are identified swiftly. They receive support from adults in school. However, the school does not have a precise way of measuring how this small group of pupils is progressing. Sometimes, these pupils are given books to read which do not contain the sounds they have been taught. This slows their progress.
From Ofsted's July 2024 inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its July 2024 inspection.
Rated Outstanding for
Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Leadership & management, Early years.
At a Glance
10.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 83% to 87% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 83% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 80% to 87% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
29.6
Avg class size
28.0
Infant (KS1)
30.7
KS2
5
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Hill Top Primary Academy
Term dates
Hill Top Primary Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Leeds's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Hill Top Primary Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Hill Top Primary Academy is in Leeds; for families living there:
Apply to Leeds for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 6
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 2 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Leeds is 18.5 (the median across 308 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Hill Top Primary Academy
Will you get a place at Hill Top Primary Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Hill Top Primary Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Hill Top Primary Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Hill Top Primary Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Leeds, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Hill Top Primary Academy for 2017 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Leeds got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
98%
Near capacity
205 pupils
210 places
5 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Wakefield
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Wakefield
Across Leeds council
Places available
10,125
Applications
8,039
Got 1st preference
92.4%
Got preferred school
99.0%
All primary applications across Leeds council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
34
SEN Support
4
EHC Plans
17.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
223
Total Pupils
114
Boys
109
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
18.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,439
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,765
Per pupil
£1301k
Total funding
£35k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.7%
Overall absence
10.2%
Persistent absence
186
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Hill Top Primary Academy
Questions parents ask about Hill Top Primary Academy
What are SATs results like at Hill Top Primary Academy?
Of the pupils at Hill Top Primary Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 87% reached the expected standard in reading and 83% did so in maths.
What is Hill Top Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?
Hill Top Primary Academy was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in July 2024.
What is the catchment area for Hill Top Primary Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Hill Top Primary Academy is oversubscribed, Leeds allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Hill Top Primary Academy?
Hill Top Primary Academy was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Hill Top Primary Academy?
Classes at Hill Top Primary Academy average 29.6 pupils (2025/26). 2 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Hill Top Primary Academy?
Hill Top Primary Academy has around 223 pupils on roll. 11% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Hill Top Primary Academy?
3.7% of sessions were missed at Hill Top Primary Academy in 2024/25. 10.2% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Hill Top Primary Academy?
Apply through Leeds's coordinated admissions process, naming Hill Top Primary Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Hill Top Primary Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 2 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Leeds is 18.5 (the median across 308 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Hill Top Primary Academy?
Hill Top Primary Academy is at Batley Road, West Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF3 1HD.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)