Primary schools do important work, helping instil a strong educational bedrock in the children in their care.
The government’s latest preliminary performance figures for state-funded primary schools were released today (12 December), a week after it published delayed performance figures for secondary schools. From this new data, we’ve created a league table ranking state primary schools across the North East of England - shining a light on some of the region’s strongest performers in the most recent academic year.
It’s based on the percentage of each school’s pupils who completed Year 6 in the 2023-24 school year, who met the government’s expected standards in three essential school skills: reading, writing and maths. We selected only schools which had the highest proportion of students hit this important mark - which gave smaller village and community schools the chance to shine, while also allowing larger primary schools in centres like Sunderland and Newcastle to show they can excel.
Each school included also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was recently dropped, or, if they’ve been inspected more recently, had at least ‘good’ grades across the board. This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management and student safeguarding were all found to meet or exceed government standards last time the school was inspected.
Here are 26 schools from across the North East that topped our list:
13. Biddick Hall Junior School
Biddick Hall is a council-run junior school in South Shields, with a roll size of about 228. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ across all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, 91% of its pupils met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths - compared to averages of 63% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
14. Cleadon Church of England Academy
This Anglican primary school in Cleadon, South Tyneside, has a roll size of about 470. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 90% of its pupils met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths - compared to averages of 63% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
15. St John Vianney Catholic Primary School
St John Vianney is a Catholic primary academy in Hartlepool, with a roll size of about 241. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 90% of its pupils met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths - compared to averages of 65% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
16. Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy
Benedict Biscop is a Church of England primary academy in Moorside, Sunderland, with a roll size of about 304. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, 90% of its pupils met the government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths - compared to averages of 65% locally and 61% nationally. | Google