SchoolFacts.uk

Sowerby Primary Academy

Primary · Thirsk · YO7 1RX

Data updated

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Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Expected standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Strong standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Expected standardPost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 15 September 2026 · report published 14 October 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

279 pupils · 82% of 339 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
19.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
23.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.sowerbyacademy.org
URN
145369

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 28 families named it first for 28 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 15 September 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

28 places offered · 28 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

48 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
65%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
4%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
105
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
103
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school65%
Median of its 12 closest peers59%
North Yorkshire average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Yapton CE Primary SchoolArundel · 237 miles awayGood45%
St Mary's Church of England Primary SchoolPulborough · 228 miles awayNeeds attention39%
Gosbecks Primary SchoolColchester · 187 miles awayGood53%
Thurston Church of England Primary AcademyBury St. Edmunds · 164 miles awayGood59%
All Souls Church of England Primary SchoolHeywood · 56 miles awayOutstanding87%
South Molton United CofE Primary SchoolSouth Molton · 246 miles awayNeeds attention52%
The Pilgrim School (A Church of England Primary With Nursery)Rochester · 211 miles awayOutstanding83%
St Bede's Catholic Primary SchoolRotherham · 54 miles awayGood69%
Nansloe AcademyHelston · 330 miles awayExpected standard63%
Kippax Ash Tree Primary SchoolLeeds · 32 miles awayGood59%
Mytham Primary SchoolBolton · 62 miles awayGood56%
Wicklea AcademyBristol · 199 miles awayRequires improvement65%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 88% (North Yorkshire 87%, England 60%) · Any other White background 4% (North Yorkshire 3%, England 7%) · Black African 2% (North Yorkshire 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (North Yorkshire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (North Yorkshire 1%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (North Yorkshire 0%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (North Yorkshire 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (North Yorkshire 1%, England 3%) · Not recorded 1% (North Yorkshire 1%, England 1%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (North Yorkshire 0%, England 0%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
8.1%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.34 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · North Yorkshire: 2.43 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

80% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 11% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

37.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.2 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £47,867; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£5,493
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 10% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 0% (2%) · catering 6% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£313,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications22.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work34.1%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways14.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health41%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier75%62.3%
Social housing11.2%17.1%
Privately rented13.8%20.5%
Detached houses46.9%22.9%
Flats4.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms25.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van13%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01034960 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£259,000373 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£200,000–£325,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (113)£352,000
Semi-detached (115)£255,500
Terraced (106)£221,000
Flat (39)£155,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
10an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools