Fairburn View Primary School, Castleford

About Fairburn View Primary School, Castleford

Fairburn View Primary School in Castleford sits well below the local authority average for Wakefield primary schools on the headline Key Stage 2 measure. The school achieved 53% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the LA average of 64%. That gap of 11 percentage points places Fairburn View 73rd out of 97 primary schools in Wakefield, putting it in the bottom half of the authority. The school’s ranking score of 53 is a long way from the top performers in the area — Jerry Clay Academy, Horbury Bridge Church of England Junior and Infant Academy, and Larks Hill Junior and Infant School all scored 93. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted, The Vale Primary Academy, is just four kilometres away. Fairburn View is also significantly oversubscribed, with 79 applications for 53 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, and 50 of those applicants listing it as their first preference.

Despite the below-average combined score, individual subject results tell a more mixed story. In maths, 83% of pupils met the expected standard and the average score was 104, which is solid. Reading was a little lower, with 78% reaching the expected standard and an average score of 103. Writing was the weakest area: only 55% of pupils met the expected standard, and just 3% achieved a higher standard. At the higher end, 14% of pupils achieved a higher standard in maths, compared with 10% in reading and just 3% in writing. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in December 2023 rated it Good overall, with Good in every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That’s consistent with its previous Good rating from June 2018, so the school has maintained its standard over time.

Fairburn View is a larger-than-average primary, with 493 pupils against a capacity of 420, and it serves a community with high levels of disadvantage — 53.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. The school offers a nursery for children aged two and up, and has a wide range of SEND provisions covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. Facilities include a Forest School, sensory room, ICT suite, library, art studios, and a chapel. Clubs run the gamut from drama and choir to science, book, art and gardening clubs, while sports on offer include football, gymnastics, rounders and cricket. This is a school that suits families looking for strong pastoral and SEND support in a community with high FSM eligibility, but those prioritising top academic outcomes may want to look at higher-performing alternatives in the Wakefield area.

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