Primary schools are often a vital part of the communities they call home.
The quality of a school can even be a determining factor in whether families choose to move to or stay in a town.
Parents naturally want the best for their children, and want to know they will leave their primary school years with a solid educational foundation they can build on in secondary school and beyond. But comparing one primary school to another is no easy task.
We’ve created a league table of state-funded primary schools in the North Yorkshire and York City Council areas to help (we’ve also done a Yorkshire-wide one here). It’s based on the percentage of each school’s pupils who completed Year 6 in the 2022-23 school year (the most up-to-date data available, until the finalised data for the 2024 school year is published in December or January) and met the government’s expected standards in three key skills: reading, writing and maths.
All schools included on the list had more than 85% of their pupils hit this target. In the predominantly rural region, this has given many smaller, village, community and faith schools a chance to shine. But even though they often have many more students to get across the goalpost, some larger schools in the likes of York have also done exceptionally well - with one also making the list.
Each school included also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was dropped last month, meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding were all been found to meet or exceed government standards the last time the school was inspected.
Here were the 17 schools which came out on top:
13. Sand Hutton Church of England Primary School
This is an Anglican primary school in Sand Hutton, northeast of York. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, 86% of its pupils once again met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to a local average of 56% and a national average of 60%. | Google
14. Scotton Lingerfield Primary School
This is a community primary school in Lingerfield, just out of Knaresborough. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, it too had 86% of its pupils meet the government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to a local average of 56% and a national average of 60%. | Google
15. Hambleton Church of England Primary School
This is an Anglican primary school in Hambleton, near Selby. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, 85% of its pupils met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to a local average of 56% and a national average of 60%. | Google
16. Hempland Primary School
Hempland is a larger primary school in York, with a roll size of more than 400 pupils. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, 85% of its pupils met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared to a local average of 63% and a national average of 60%. | Google