Woodthorpe Primary School

About Woodthorpe Primary School

Woodthorpe Primary School in York has undergone a remarkable turnaround, earning an Outstanding rating from Ofsted in its most recent inspection in 2024. This is a significant leap from its previous inspection in 2022, when it was rated Requires Improvement across most categories, including overall effectiveness and quality of education. The latest report awarded top marks across the board: Outstanding for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. On the headline academic metric for primary schools, 60% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. This sits just below the York local authority average of 62%, though it places the school in the bottom half of schools nationally, ranking 7,982 out of 13,686. The school’s ranking within York is 31st out of 47 primary schools, putting it in the bottom 50% locally.

Digging into the individual subjects, the picture is mixed. In writing, 79% of pupils reached the expected standard, and in maths it was 73%, both solid figures. Reading was lower at 65%. At the higher standard, 12% of pupils achieved the top marks across all three subjects, with maths the strongest subject at 27% reaching that level. Reading and writing at the higher standard were 25% and 17% respectively. Average scaled scores were 104 in maths and 103 in reading, both in line with national averages. The school does not have published progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to see how much value it adds compared with pupils with similar starting points. However, the Ofsted report’s Outstanding judgement for quality of education suggests inspectors saw strong teaching and curriculum design across the board.

Woodthorpe is a large primary school with 447 pupils, very close to its capacity of 450, and it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 97 applications for 59 places, with 55 first-preference offers made. The school has a nursery provision for children aged three and above. It offers a wide range of facilities including playing fields, a sports hall, a sensory room, a forest school, art studios, a gymnasium, an ICT suite and a chapel. Sports on offer include rounders, netball, dance, cricket and cross country, while clubs include drama, art club and film club. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 19.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average deprivation for a York primary. This is a school that has demonstrably improved its standards and suits families who want a well-resourced, inclusive setting with strong pastoral and SEND support, though those prioritising top-tier academic results may want to look at higher-ranked local options like Knavesmire or Lord Deramore's.

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