St Giles C of E Academy

About St Giles C of E Academy

St Giles C of E Academy is a Church of England primary in Wakefield that is clearly in demand. With 349 pupils on roll against a capacity of 315, the school is operating above its official limit, and the 2025/26 admissions data tells a similar story: 108 applications for just 44 places, with 59 families putting it as their first preference. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 2.45, meaning nearly two and a half children applied for every spot. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 20.8%, which is above the national average for primary schools and suggests the school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage. Despite this, the school has held a Good rating from Ofsted since its 2015 graded inspection, and its most recent ungraded inspection in January 2025 noted that the school had improved significantly since then.

Academically, St Giles performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 80% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Wakefield average of 64%. That puts the school 17th out of 97 primary schools in the local authority, comfortably in the top 25% nationally. Average scores in reading and maths both sit at 106, which is above the national benchmark of 100. At the higher standard, 7% of pupils achieved the top marks across all three subjects, with maths leading the way at 33% reaching the higher threshold. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points, but the raw outcomes are strong enough to place St Giles among the better-performing primaries in Yorkshire and the Humber.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a library, ICT suite, music rooms, chapel and playing fields, with clubs covering coding, art, drama and choir, plus sports such as football, cricket, rounders and dance. SEND provision is well developed, with support available for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 54 families are overwhelmingly positive: 96% would recommend the school, 87% strongly agreed their child is happy, and 89% strongly agreed their child feels safe. The school also has a nursery provision for children from age three. For families in Wakefield looking for a strong, oversubscribed Church of England primary with solid results and a supportive SEND offer, St Giles is clearly a popular choice.

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