St Helen's CE Primary School, Pontefract
St Helen's CE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Pontefract, part of Enhance Academy Trust. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in February 2023. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 13th-highest of the 33 schools in Pontefract with published results, and 6,288th of 14,452 across England. It was 62% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2023)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Wakefield (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Helen's CE Primary School in detail
St Helen's CE Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "“Looking Forward in Faith” has been our motto for over 20 years. Being a Church of England school, the Christian Faith is at the heart of everything we do, although we are always welcoming to those of all faiths and none."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include badminton, running and choir.
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care.
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils at St Helen's CE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 74% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 75% in Wakefield and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 88% in reading and 88% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Helen's CE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 23 families put St Helen's CE Primary School as their first choice and 48 named it as one of their preferences, for 24 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 St Helen's CE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Helen's CE Primary School are Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 52% reading, 35% maths); West End Academy (0.5 miles, Good, 73% reading, 81% maths); Grove Lea Primary School (0.6 miles, 87% reading, 87% maths); and Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School (1.2 miles, Good, 89% reading, 89% maths).
St Helen's CE Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary SchoolWest End AcademyGrove Lea Primary SchoolBrierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
The trust
St Helen's CE Primary School is one of 17 schools run by Enhance Academy Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
42.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 8.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 34 pupils (15.8%) received SEN support and 16 (7.4%) 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 Fitzwilliam Rail Station, about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Moorshutt Road, 90 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Helen's CE Primary School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Helen's CE Primary School issued 13 suspensions, 6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
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
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its February 2023 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management, Early years.
At a Glance
42.8%
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 declined from 88% to 84% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 88% to 74% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 75% to 71% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.6
Avg class size
26.3
Infant (KS1)
28.5
KS2
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with St Helen's CE Primary School
Before and after school care
St Helen's CE Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Wakefield
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Helen's CE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Helen's CE Primary School is in Wakefield; for families living there:
- Wakefield's school travel policy: Home To School Transport Policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 4
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 3 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 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 Wakefield is 13 (the median across 157 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 St Helen's CE Primary School
Will you get a place at St Helen's CE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Helen's CE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Helen's CE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Helen's CE Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Wakefield, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Helen's CE Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Wakefield 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
62%
Available places
194 pupils
315 places
121 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Pontefract
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Pontefract
Across Wakefield council
Places available
4,391
Applications
3,654
Got 1st preference
94.4%
Got preferred school
99.1%
All primary applications across Wakefield council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(10)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
34
SEN Support
16
EHC Plans
23.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
215
Total Pupils
110
Boys
105
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
11
Teachers
19.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,802
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,112
Per pupil
£1383k
Total funding
£138k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.2%
Overall absence
21.3%
Persistent absence
174
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
St Helen's CE Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Helen's CE Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Helen's CE Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Helen's CE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 84% reached the expected standard in reading and 74% did so in maths.
What is St Helen's CE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Helen's CE Primary School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2023. At its previous graded inspection in 2019 it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for St Helen's CE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Helen's CE Primary School is oversubscribed, Wakefield allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Helen's CE Primary School?
St Helen's CE Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 62% of its 315 places.
How big are the classes at St Helen's CE Primary School?
Classes at St Helen's CE Primary School average 27.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Helen's CE Primary School?
St Helen's CE Primary School has around 215 pupils on roll. 43% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Helen's CE Primary School?
6.2% of sessions were missed at St Helen's CE Primary School in 2024/25. 21.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Helen's CE Primary School?
Apply through Wakefield's coordinated admissions process, naming St Helen's CE Primary School 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.
Does St Helen's CE Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
St Helen's CE Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school.
How many road collisions happen near St Helen's CE Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 3 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 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 Wakefield is 13 (the median across 157 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Helen's CE Primary School?
St Helen's CE Primary School is at Highfield Road, Hemsworth, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF9 4EG.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)