Horsforth Featherbank Primary School

About Horsforth Featherbank Primary School

Horsforth Featherbank Primary School has been judged Outstanding in every category of its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in March 2024. The school received top marks for overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — a clean sweep of Grade 1 ratings. That places it among just 26 primary schools in Leeds to hold an Outstanding rating, out of 221 in the local authority. But the real story is in the exam data. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 87% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure puts the school fourth out of 204 primaries in Leeds, and in the top 5% nationally. It also sits well above the Leeds local authority average of 61%, making it one of the strongest academic performers in the area.

Digging deeper into the 2023/24 SATs results, the school’s strengths are clear. In reading, 97% of pupils met the expected standard and 73% reached the higher standard — an unusually high proportion. Maths saw 90% at expected and 60% at the higher level, while writing had 90% at expected and 30% at the higher level. The average scaled scores were 111 in reading and 110 in maths, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. The school ranks third in Leeds overall when combining its ranking score with nearby peers, just behind Harewood Church of England and Shadwell Primary Schools. While the data doesn’t include progress scores, the attainment figures alone suggest children are leaving Year 6 well prepared for secondary school. For context, the school’s 23% of pupils achieving the higher standard in all three subjects is a strong indicator of depth, not just breadth, in learning.

Horsforth Featherbank is a state primary for mixed genders aged 4 to 11, with 213 pupils on roll — slightly above its official capacity of 210. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 222 applications for just 30 places, with 46 first-preference applications and only 29 offers made to first-preference families. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 7.4 applicants per place. The school serves a relatively diverse intake, with 17.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals. Facilities include a library, gymnasium, forest school, music rooms, ICT suite and a chapel. SEND provision covers a wide range of needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language communication needs, and visual impairment. Clubs include choir, science club and book club, while sports on offer are gymnastics, cross country, dance, netball and rounders. This is a school that combines strong academic results with a broad offer, but securing a place will require careful planning given the level of demand.

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