Clifton Green Primary School

About Clifton Green Primary School

Clifton Green Primary School is a state-funded, mixed primary in York that currently teaches 397 pupils against a capacity of 450, meaning it is not yet full but clearly in demand. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 56 total applications for just 31 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.81, and all 31 first-preference applicants were offered a spot. That level of competition suggests a school that local families are actively choosing. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 31.4%, which is notably higher than the national primary average of around 23% and indicates a catchment serving a significant number of households with economic need. The school has a nursery provision, so children can join from age three, and its religious character is listed as 'does not apply', making it a fully non-denominational option in York.

Academically, Clifton Green's most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated it Good overall, a clear improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2018. The inspection breakdown shows Good for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision, with an Outstanding rating for personal development. At Key Stage 2 in 2023/24, 33% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is well below the York local authority average of 62%. The school's ranking in York places it 46th out of 47 primary schools on this metric, putting it in the bottom tier locally and nationally. Individual subject scores show a reading average of 101 and maths average of 98, with just 2% of pupils achieving the higher standard in all three subjects. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is hard to say how much value the school adds relative to starting points.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a sports hall, playing fields, forest school, art studios, and a dining hall, plus a chapel on site. Sports on offer include netball, dance, swimming, athletics and gymnastics, and there is a good selection of clubs from drama and choir to science club, chess, eco club and coding. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists seven SEND provisions covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language communication, visual impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Acomb Primary School, 2.4 km away. Clifton Green suits families who value a non-denominational, inclusive primary with strong pastoral care and a wide extracurricular offer, but who are aware that its academic outcomes are below the local average and may want to investigate how the school supports progress for different pupil groups.

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