Schools in Castleford
Castleford is a former coal-mining town in West Yorkshire, now part of the Wakefield Metropolitan District but with many families also connected to the wider Leeds area. The town has 19 state schools - 15 primary and 3 secondary - serving Castleford and surrounding communities including Glasshoughton and Airedale. Wakefield Council coordinates admissions for community schools in Castleford, applying home-to-school distance as the oversubscription tiebreaker after priority groups.
Castleford's three secondary schools serve the town and surrounding areas. The town has seen regeneration investment, including new housing developments that have increased demand for school places in some year groups. Families in newer estates on the town's edges should check which secondary catchment area they fall in, as boundaries have been reviewed in recent years. Wakefield publishes its co-ordinated admissions information and catchment maps each autumn for the following September intake.
School demand in Castleford
Across the 18 schools in Castleford with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 98%. 6 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.
2 schools in Castleford have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
15 of the schools in Castleford are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Leeds, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
11 of the schools in Castleford have a current Ofsted rating, of which 8 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Castleford: 6 oversubscribed (15)
Lady Elizabeth Hastings CofE Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Castleford · WF10 2BD
Castleford Wheldon Infant School and Nursery
Primary · Community school
Castleford · WF10 1HF
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Castleford
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 4JB
Castleford Park Junior Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 4BB
Glasshoughton Infant Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 4BH
Oyster Park Primary Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Castleford · WF10 3SN
Castleford Three Lane Ends Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 1PN
Airedale Junior Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Castleford · WF10 3EP
Airedale Infant Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 3QJ
Fairburn View Primary School, Castleford
Primary · Community school
Castleford · WF10 3DB
Allerton Bywater Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 2DR
Ackton Pastures Primary Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 5NS
Half Acres Primary Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 5RE
Townville Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Castleford · WF10 3QJ
Smawthorne Henry Moore Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 5AX
Secondary Schools in Castleford (3)
Airedale Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 3JU
Castleford Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 4JQ
Brigshaw High School
Secondary · Academy converter
Castleford · WF10 2HR
Other Schools in Castleford (1)
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Castleford are set by Leeds and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.