The 21 best-rated primary schools in the North East, according to Ofsted and league tables

By Amber Allott

Published 29th Jun 2024, 09:00 BST

Updated 29th Jun 2024, 11:07 BST

Choosing the right primary school can set your child up with a lifelong love of learning 👩‍🎓👨‍🎓

For many young people, primary school will the very first step of their educational career - and it’s important to start on the right foot.

We’re taking a look at the top-rated primary schools around the country to help families make an informed decision, starting with the North East. The region has proven itself to be a hotbed of high quality state-funded schools, but we’ve narrowed it down based on two main factors.

You can view a list of the best-performing Sunderland primary schools here.

The first is schools rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted - meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding have all been found to be excellent.

The second is the percentage of its pupils who completed the national curriculum’s key stage 2 in the 2022/23 school year, and met the expected standards for reading, writing and maths. We’ve selected only schools which surpassed both the national and local authority area’s averages.

Here were the 21 that scored the highest across the region:

Montalbo is a mixed primary school in Barnard Castle, County Durham.
A whopping 90% of its students met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2023, compared to 59% locally and 60% nationally. It also had a huge 35% of its student achieving at a high level in the same three subjects.

1. Montalbo Nursery & Primary School

Montalbo is a mixed primary school in Barnard Castle, County Durham. A whopping 90% of its students met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2023, compared to 59% locally and 60% nationally. It also had a huge 35% of its student achieving at a high level in the same three subjects. | Stock Photo: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock

Haltwhistle is a mixed primary school in Haltwhistle, Northumberland.
A huge 87% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in the 2022/23 school year, compared to 58% locally and 60% nationally.

2. Haltwhistle Primary Academy

Haltwhistle is a mixed primary school in Haltwhistle, Northumberland. A huge 87% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in the 2022/23 school year, compared to 58% locally and 60% nationally. | Google

Bernard Gilpin is a mixed primary school in Houghton le Spring, Tyne and Wear.
Last year 86% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared to 62% locally and 60% nationally.

3. Bernard Gilpin Primary School

Bernard Gilpin is a mixed primary school in Houghton le Spring, Tyne and Wear. Last year 86% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared to 62% locally and 60% nationally. | Google

Bailey Green is a mixed primary school in Killingworth, Tyne and Wear.
In 2023, 83% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared to 61% locally and 60% nationally.

4. Bailey Green Primary School

Bailey Green is a mixed primary school in Killingworth, Tyne and Wear. In 2023, 83% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared to 61% locally and 60% nationally. | Google

Primary Schools North East Ofsted Boost

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