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State secondary · 11 to 16 · Mixed · 1,041 pupils

Ark The King's School

Mill Hill Lane, Pontefract, WF8 4JF · Wakefield
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COULD YOUR CHILD GET IN? · YEAR 7 2027

We hold no offer-day distances for this school yet. Enter your postcode to see how far it is from your home.

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Ofsted: Good · October 20221st (1/18)Fewer first choices than places (2026)
School website ↗Google Maps ↗Directions ↗Ofsted reports ↗DfE results ↗Government register ↗

Summary

The key facts, in one place
GCSE (key stage 4) The league rank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase on the newest year's DfE results, the same rank as on the Schools map. In England: 756th of 3,223 on the same figure. Band: 1st.
1st (1/18)Rank among 18 Wakefield secondaries with results, 2026 results (Attainment 8)
See the Wakefield league table →
Inspection
Good, October 2022
Getting in
Not full for Year 7 2026
Results
+0.10 progress 8; 51.8 attainment 8
Size
1,041 pupils; 207 places a year; classes of 27
Run by
Ark Schools
Type
Academy converter
Ages
11 to 16 · Mixed
Ofsted, October 2022The judgements from the school's latest inspection. Reports from November 2025 use Ofsted's new report card, with different headings; we show whichever the latest report uses.Read the report ↗
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour and attitudesGood
Leadership and managementGood
Strengths, and things to check
  • Attainment 8: 51.8, against 46.7 in Wakefield.
  • English and maths, grade 5+: 57%, against 49% in Wakefield.
  • We hold no offer-day distances for this school: ask the council how far places went.
Schools for usRank every school near you by the measures that matter to your family, each reason shown.Rank schools →

At a glance

Against Wakefield and England
This schoolWakefieldEnglandHover or tap a bar for the figures
Academic
Progress 8How far pupils progressed between the end of primary school and GCSEs, against pupils across England who started at the same level. 0 is average; +0.5 means half a grade better in each subject.
+0.10
In line with Wakefield
Attainment 8The average GCSE score across eight subjects, including English and maths counted twice. A grade 5 in all eight would score 50.
51.8
Better than Wakefield
English and maths, grade 5+The share of pupils with grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE (a strong pass).
57%
Better than Wakefield
Attendance and behaviour
Sessions missedHalf-day sessions missed, authorised or not, as a share of all sessions in the school year (DfE pupil absence). Lower is better.
6.6%
Better than Wakefield
Persistently absentPupils who missed one session in ten or more. Lower is better.
16.7%
Better than Wakefield
Suspensions per 100 pupilsSuspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Lower is better; one or two incidents move a small school a lot.
29.3
Better than Wakefield
Pupils and classes
Average class sizeAverage pupils per class, from the school census. Shown for context, not as a score.
26.8
Context
Free school mealsPupils eligible for free school meals. Context for reading the results, not a measure of the school.
26%
Context
Pupils for each teacherPupils on roll for each full-time teacher, from the school workforce census. Shown for context.
20.9
Context
Demand for places
First choices per placeFamilies who put this school first, for each Year 7 place in 2026 (DfE applications and offers). Above 1 means more first choices than places.
0.9
Less sought after than Wakefield
Wakefield and England: DfE's own averages for results. For the rest, the middle state secondary school of the same phase, from every school we hold, since DfE publishes no council figure we hold.Where these figures come from →

Overview

Getting in

  • 188 families put it first for 207 places; 181 of them got in DfE, school applications and offers · Year 7 2026
  • We hold no catchment map for this school, so we can't say which addresses are inside it.
  • We can't tell how far Year 7 places reached: we hold no offer-day figures for this school. Ask the council or the school for the last distance offered.

Quality

  • Good Ofsted · inspected 12 October 2022
  • Progress 8: +0.10 (England +0.01) (county +0.07) DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024
  • Attainment 8: 51.8 (England 47.4) (county 46.7) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • English and maths grade 5 or above: 57% (England 48%) (county 49%) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • Progress, set against pupils who started with the same results: average DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024

Daily life

  • Absence: 6.6% of sessions missed; 17% of pupils miss 1 in 10 or more. Schools with a similar intake: 8.5% and 24% DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level · 2024/25
  • Suspensions: 29 per 100 pupils (schools with a similar intake: 17); 2 permanent exclusions DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level · 2024/25
  • Classes average 26.8 pupils; 21% of classes have more than 30 DfE, school workforce and pupil census · 2025/26
  • 20.9 pupils for each teacher DfE, school workforce · November 2025
  • Nearest stops, in a straight line: bus 70 m DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes) · within 800 m
  • 47 police-reported road collisions within 500 m (0 fatal, 13 serious) DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years · 2021 to 2025
  • Air: nitrogen dioxide 12.0 µg/m³, PM2.5 7.2 (1 km square, background level) DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps · 2024

Who runs it

  • Ark Schools, with 48 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined September 2026
  • Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 April 2013 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced The King's School Specialising in Mathematics and Computing (URN 108275) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 April 2013
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Getting in

How far offers reached

How far away the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, as the council measures it. It changes every year with who applies: a record, not a promise. Children with a higher priority can be offered places from further away.

Year 7. Distance of the last child offered a place on offer day. What the last distance means →

Applications and offers, DfE

EntryYearPlacesFirst choicesAny choiceFirst choices offered
Year 72026207188487181
Year 72025202220526202
Year 72024205194477190
Year 72023203208403202
Year 72022207244436206
Year 72021198194388194
Year 72020207247416206
Year 72019209238446206
Year 72018206257442203
Year 72017204200367198

Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence), 2014 to 2026. Families name up to three schools, so most applications are somebody's second or third choice.

Could you get in?Enter a home or postcode: we set it against every year's last offer and this school's rules.

Results

Results

MeasureThis schoolEnglandCouncilYear
Progress 8+0.10+0.01+0.072023/2024
Attainment 851.847.446.72025/2026
English and maths grade 5 or above57%48%49%2025/2026

Source: DfE school performance tables, 2023/2024, 2025/2026.

League table place

TableLeague rank
GCSE (key stage 4)1st (1/18)

Source: DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase.

Inspections

DateKindOutcome
12 October 2022Graded inspectionGood

Source: Ofsted, 2022.

Where leavers go

StageLeavers inPupilsIn a sustained placeOf which
After GCSEs2023/2420791%In education 82%; Apprenticeship 4.3%; Employment 4.8%
After GCSEs2022/2320689%In education 81%; Apprenticeship 4.4%; Employment 3.9%
After GCSEs2021/2219786%In education 79%; Apprenticeship 3.0%; Employment 4.1%

Source: DfE, destination measures. A figure DfE hides for a small group is left out, not shown as nought. The newest year may be provisional.

Wakefield league tableEvery school of this phase in the council on these results.See the table →

Daily life

Absence

YearSessions missedAuthorisedUnauthorisedPupils missing 1 in 10Pupils missing 1 in 2
2024/256.6%3.3%3.3%17%3.6%
2023/247.5%3.4%4.1%20%4.2%
2022/237.1%3.7%3.4%20%2.4%
Schools with a similar intake8.5%24%

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level, 2024-25. Similar intake: state schools of the same phase with free school meals in the same band (20-30%), the median of 896 schools.

Suspensions and exclusions

YearSuspensions per 100 pupilsPupils suspendedSuspensionsPermanent exclusions
2024/2529.37.8%3042
2023/2436.77.3%3792
2022/2326.26.8%2723
Schools with a similar intake16.8

Source: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level, 2024-25.

Class sizes and staff

MeasureFigureYear
Average class size26.82025/26
Classes over 30 pupils21%2025/26
Pupils for each teacher20.9November 2025

Source: DfE, school workforce; school census, 2025/26.

Stops nearby

KindNearest (metres, straight line)
bus70

Source: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes), current. A stop across a railway or main road may be a long walk. Bus frequency is not held.

Road collisions within 500 m

YearCollisions
20256
202414
202317
20225
20215

Source: DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years, 2021 to 2025. 13 serious and 0 fatal in all; 7 involved a pedestrian, 5 a cyclist. Only collisions with an injury reported to police are counted.

Air quality

PollutantAnnual mean (µg/m³)Year
NO212.02024
PM1012.42024
PM257.22024

Source: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps. A 1 km background figure: not the air at the school gate beside a busy road.

Pupils

Who goes there

MeasureShare of pupilsYear
Eligible for free school meals26%2025/26
First language other than English6.2%2025/26
SEN support14%2025/26
Education, health and care plan3.6%2025/26
Girls48%2025/26

Source: DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs, 2025/26.

Who runs it

Who runs it

  • Ark Schools, with 48 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined September 2026
  • Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 April 2013 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced The King's School Specialising in Mathematics and Computing (URN 108275) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 April 2013
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Area

Homes in reach of this schoolLook up any home near here: its sales, an open-data valuation, and which schools it keeps in reach.Search homes →

Sources

  • DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps
  • DfE school performance tables
  • DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase
  • DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence)
  • DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level
  • DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level
  • DfE, destination measures
  • DfE, school workforce; school census
  • DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs
  • DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes)
  • DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years
  • Ofsted
  • School register: DfE Get Information about Schools (this school)
  • How we check these figures: How we know

More in schools in Pontefract and the Wakefield league table. School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.