When it comes to having wonderful local primary schools that set their young pupils up for success, many communities across Doncaster have cause for celebration.
The end of the current school year is here, with the summer holidays set to begin tomorrow (July 24) for Doncaster’s schools - if they haven’t already. After the six-week summer break, pupils will return for the 2025/26 school year at the start of September, alongside some 3,000 new starters entering Reception classes.
Starting school marks an important milestone in a young child’s life, but the early primary years are perhaps more important than some realise. Here, parents will entrust their child’s school and teachers to help them master a diverse set of essential skills - ones which they will come to rely on throughout the rest of their time in education.
To mark the approach of another new school year, we’ve revisited the state-funded primary schools across the Doncaster Council area that have excelled in this measure. Our league table is primarily based on the proportion of each school’s pupils who completed Year 6 in the most recently-completed 2023/24 academic year, and met the Government’s expected standards in three essential school skills areas: reading, writing and maths. This data has now been finalised, so it is worth noting that results and placings may differ slightly from earlier reports based on interim results.
But performance isn’t the only thing that makes a school a great place to learn, so to balance it out, we also made sure each school included had a positive rating in its latest Ofsted inspection. These are in the middle of some big changes, but we’ve restricted the list to schools with either a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one. This means their quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded official standards.
Here are the local schools that made up Doncaster’s ‘top 15’:
1. Crookesbroom Primary Academy
At the top of the list is Crookesbroom, a primary academy in the Dunscroft area to the northeast of the city. It has about 227 pupils, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 96% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to a local average of 60% and a national average of 61%. | Google
2. St Oswald's CofE Academy
Next up is St Oswald’s, an Anglican primary academy in the village of Finningley, southeast of the city. It has about 229 pupils, and in a recent Ofsted inspection, was found to be ‘good’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, 84% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to a local average of 60% and a national average of 61%. | Google
3. Arksey Primary School
This is a local authority-maintained village primary school in Arksey, just north of the city. It has about 74 pupils, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 83% of its pupils met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to a local average of 60% and a national average of 61%. | Google
4. Auckley School
This is a primary academy in Auckley, just east of Doncaster. It has about 236 pupils, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 83% of its pupils also met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths - compared to a local average of 60% and a national average of 61%. | Google