Sandal Castle VA Community Primary School
Barnsley Road, Wakefield, WF2 6AS
608 pupils · 97% of 630 capacity
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Free school meals
- 24.3%
Ofsted
No overall grade (2025) — Inspected 2024–2025 — no overall grade under the interim framework
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 7 January 2025, published 9 February 2025. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 45% |
| Reaching the higher standard | 3% |
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Usually has places available — 0.81 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 68 | 55 | 141 | 67 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 81 | 62 | 156 | 79 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 79 | 62 | 156 | 79 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 89 | 67 | 138 | 82 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 87 | 85 | 156 | 87 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 90 | 81 | 129 | 85 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 89 | 81 | 170 | 89 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 87 | 71 | 126 | 81 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- Sandal Magna Community Academy 1.2 km · Good (2022) · previous system
- Walton Primary Academy 1.7 km · Good — confirmed 2022 · previous system
- Methodist Voluntary Controlled Junior, Infant and Nursery School: With Communication Resource 1.8 km · Good — confirmed 2023 · previous system
- Hendal Primary School 2.1 km · No overall grade (2024)
- The Mount Junior Infant & Nursery School 2.6 km · Good (2022) · previous system
- Wakefield St Marys Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School 2.7 km · Good — confirmed 2023 · previous system
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.