St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form CollegeArk The King's School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Pontefract.
Summary of the comparison
St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College and Ark The King's School are secondary schools in Pontefract.
St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College scores 59 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Ark The King's School scores 63 out of 100 (grade C, average). Ark The King's School is ahead on our composite score.
St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College was judged the expected standard and Ark The King's School was judged Good.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 46.1 for St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College and 51.8 for Ark The King's School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College (49.6 in 2021-22, 46.1 in 2025-26) and has held broadly level at Ark The King's School (52.6 in 2021-22, 51.8 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | PontefractSt Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College | PontefractArk The King's School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C59/100 | C63/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 9th of 18 in Wakefield | 3rd of 18 in Wakefield Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Expected | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-18 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 1,470 | 1,041 | |
| Capacity | 1,800 | 1,050 | |
| Location | Pontefract, WF7 6BD | Pontefract, WF8 4JF | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 46.1 | 51.8 Stronger figure | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 41.5% | 57.2% Stronger figure | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 62.5% | 79.3% Stronger figure | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 272 | 208 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | 53 | Not reported | |
| A-level average points | 31.1 | Not reported | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | C | Not reported | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | 33.1 | Not reported | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | 10.8% | Not reported | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 1,481 | 1,038 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 22.6% | 24.4% | |
| English as an additional language | 12.5% | 5.7% | |
| SEN support | 12.9% | 11.8% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 4.6% | 2.7% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 8.0% | 6.6% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 23.3% | 16.7% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College
Ark The King's School
Full profiles: St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College · Ark The King's School