Schools in Pontefract
Pontefract and its surrounding communities - including Featherstone, Knottingley and Castleford - are served by 46 schools ranging from small village primaries to large secondary academies. The area sits in the Wakefield local authority, which coordinates admissions and publishes catchment area maps each autumn for the following school year.
Many schools in Pontefract have catchment boundaries that cover distinct neighbourhoods: Featherstone schools typically serve Featherstone and Purston, while Pontefract town schools draw from specific postcodes in WF8. Proximity is the most common oversubscription criterion after looked-after children and siblings.
Secondary school places in Pontefract are competitive; Carleton High School and Minsthorpe Community College are both popular choices. Families should check distance data from the previous year's admissions round to gauge realistic catchment radii.
School demand in Pontefract
Across the 44 schools in Pontefract with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 95%. 17 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.
13 schools in Pontefract have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
32 of the schools in Pontefract are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Wakefield, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
20 of the schools in Pontefract have a current Ofsted rating, of which 16 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Pontefract: 16 oversubscribed (36)
Streethouse Junior, Infant and Nursery School
Primary · Community school
Pontefract · WF7 6DJ
Featherstone Purston Infant School
Primary · Community school
Pontefract · WF7 5HF
Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School
Primary · Community school
Pontefract · WF7 6LW
Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Pontefract · WF7 5BG
Kirk Smeaton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Pontefract · WF8 3JY
Upton Primary School
Primary · Community school
Pontefract · WF9 1JS
Moorthorpe Primary School With Inclusion Resource
Primary · Community school
Pontefract · WF9 2BL
South Kirkby Common Road Infant and Nursery School
Primary · Community school
Pontefract · WF9 3EA
South Elmsall Carlton Junior and Infant School
Primary · Community school
Pontefract · WF9 2QQ
Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Pontefract · WF9 1AJ
Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Pontefract · WF7 7HH
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF9 4LJ
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Pontefract
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 4AA
Larks Hill Junior and Infant School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 4RJ
Halfpenny Lane Junior Infant and Nursery School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 4BW
Orchard Head Junior and Infant and Nursery School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 2NJ
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 3NP
St Helen's CE Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF9 4EG
West End Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF9 4QJ
De Lacy Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF8 2TG
Darrington Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 3SB
Carleton Park Junior and Infant School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF8 3PT
St Giles C of E Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 1HG
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Moorthorpe
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF9 2BP
Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 2HN
South Kirkby Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF9 3DP
Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF7 6BQ
Cherry Tree Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF8 2HN
Fitzwilliam Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF9 5BA
Ackworth Mill Dam School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF7 7PH
Featherstone Girnhill Infant School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF7 5JB
Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF7 7JH
King's Meadow Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF9 5BP
Ash Grove Primary Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
PONTEFRACT · WF9 2TF
Grove Lea Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF9 4BQ
Northfield Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF9 3LY
Secondary Schools in Pontefract (6)
Minsthorpe Community College
Secondary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF9 2UJ
The Featherstone Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF7 5AJ
St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF7 6BD
The King's School
Secondary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 4JF
Carleton High School
Secondary · Academy converter
Pontefract · WF8 3NW
Outwood Academy Hemsworth
Secondary · Academy sponsor led
Pontefract · WF9 4AB
Other Schools in Pontefract (4)
Harewood Centre Nursery School
Nursery · Local authority nursery school
Pontefract · WF8 2ER
High Well School
Not applicable · Community special school
Pontefract · WF8 2DD
Oakfield Park School
Not applicable · Community special school
Pontefract · WF7 7DT
New College Pontefract
All through · Academy 16-19 converter
Pontefract · WF8 4QR
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Pontefract are set by Wakefield and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.