Hillcrest Academy

Hillcrest Academy is a larger-than-average primary school in a deprived area of Leeds, part of The GORSE Academies Trust, and it was inspected in May 2026. The inspection found the school performing at a strong standard across every evaluated area: achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language, make rapid progress from varied starting points and are well prepared for their next steps. Behaviour is exemplary, attendance is improving, and the curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced.

Strengths

• Pupils build knowledge and skills rapidly and are extremely well prepared for their next steps.
• Spoken language development is noteworthy, including for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and those with English as an additional language.
• Leaders use robust, swift strategies to improve attendance, including for persistently absent pupils.
• Pupils demonstrate exemplary attitudes to learning and behaviour, so lessons are rarely disrupted.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious, carefully sequenced and enriched by experiences such as 'Deep Curriculum Analysis'.
• Teaching is highly skilled, consistent and supported by precise assessment and timely interventions.
• Early years provision is strong, with expert communication and language support and high expectations.
• Inclusion is highly effective; leaders understand and meet a wide range of needs and use pupil premium well.
• Leadership, governance and trust oversight are clear, ambitious and focused on continuous improvement.
• Staff professional learning is highly effective, and staff wellbeing is prioritised.
• Personal development and PSHE are carefully crafted, including local safety issues and British values.
• Pupils benefit from a rich range of wider opportunities, including performing arts and local connections.
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, listened to and well-supported.
• Pupils with SEND and EAL receive expert support to access the curriculum and communicate.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve well and are supported to learn alongside their peers.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Hillcrest Academy attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.3% of pupils at Hillcrest Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Hillcrest Academy had 21.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 36.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 20.2% of pupils at Hillcrest Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Hillcrest Academy received £6,896 and spent £6,966 for each of its 449 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £345,000 (£769 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of The Gorse Academies Trust, income was £7,876 and spending £7,672 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Leeds · Leeds local authority: places and applications

Hillcrest Academy is part of The Gorse Academies Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Little London Academy Leeds
• Leeds Mathematics School Leeds
• Richmond Hill Academy Leeds
• The Ruth Gorse Academy Leeds
• John Smeaton Academy Leeds
• Elliott Hudson College Leeds
• Ryecroft Academy Leeds
• The Farnley Academy Leeds
• Morley Newlands Academy Leeds
• Bardsey Primary Academy Leeds

What is Hillcrest Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hillcrest Academy is Strong standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Hillcrest Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Hillcrest Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Hillcrest Academy have?

Hillcrest Academy has 465 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hillcrest Academy cover?

Hillcrest Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Hillcrest Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hillcrest Academy?

Hillcrest Academy is at Cowper Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS7 4DR.