Hill Top Primary Academy

Hill Top Primary Academy is performing well overall, with an overall effectiveness rating of good. The school provides a nurturing and inclusive environment where pupils feel safe and valued. They display positive attitudes towards learning and achieve high standards, particularly at the end of key stage 2. The commitment of the leadership to high expectations and personal development is evident, with a strong focus on preparing pupils for future success. However, there are areas for improvement, specifically in the area of early reading progress measurement and ensuring that all reading materials are appropriately matched to pupils' phonics knowledge.

Strengths

• Pupils show exceptional behaviour and positive attitudes towards learning.
• The school has robust support systems for pupils with SEND, ensuring they achieve ambitious targets.
• High-quality relationships are fostered between pupils and staff.
• The curriculum is well-structured, progressively building knowledge and skills across subjects.
• Pupils are passionate about reading and demonstrate strong comprehension skills.

Areas for Improvement

• Lack of a precise system to track early reading progress for some pupils.

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 Hill Top Primary Academy attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Hill Top Primary 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 Hill Top Primary Academy had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 15.2% of pupils at Hill Top Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 Hill Top Primary Academy received £7,060 and spent £7,050 for each of its 223 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £257,000 (£1,150 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Leodis Academies Trust, income was £7,556 and spending £7,233 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 Wakefield · Leeds local authority: places and applications

Hill Top Primary Academy is part of Leodis Academies Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Westerton Primary Academy Wakefield
• Woodkirk Academy Wakefield
• Blackgates Primary Academy Wakefield
• East Ardsley Primary Academy Wakefield

What is Hill Top Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hill Top Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Hill Top Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Hill Top Primary Academy was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Hill Top Primary Academy have?

Hill Top Primary Academy has 223 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hill Top Primary Academy cover?

Hill Top Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Hill Top Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hill Top Primary Academy?

Hill Top Primary Academy is at Batley Road, West Ardsley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF3 1HD.