The school was paid a visit by a very special guest this week, former world number one squash player and Commonwealth Games Gold medal winner James Willstrop. James gave a whole school assembly where, amongst many interesting topics, he spoke to the children about the world class squash facilities right here in our town at the Pontefract Squash Club. A group of very lucky children were then given the opportunity to work with James on some of their racket and ball skills.
Visit by Commonwealth Games Gold medal winner James Willstrop
Recent news.
2024
De Lacy Primary School is ‘Outstanding’
De Lacy Primary School, part of Pontefract Academies Trust, has been praised by Ofsted as an 'Outstanding' school in all five inspected categories – the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision. The whole school community is celebrating after inspectors, who visited on 12 and 13 March 2024, praised De Lacy Primary as an 'exceptional school with happy pupils.' Inspectors went on to commend the school's extremely 'ambitious curriculum that carefully identifies what pupils should learn over time', coupled with 'leaders who cleverly weave knowledge and skills throughout different subjects'. During their… Read more
2024
The Power of Education
In the heart of Pontefract, a group of nine schools are making waves in the education sector. Pontefract Academies Trust, comprising of seven primary schools and two secondary schools, was once struggling with underperformance. However, thanks to a significant shift in its leadership and culture, the Trust has undergone a remarkable transformation. Today, it stands tall as an outstanding success story of school improvement, with staff and students playing a vital role in its journey to success. In 2018, the primary schools’ performance across the Trust was amongst the weakest in the country. But this year, the primary schools’ performance… Read more