Parents of primary school-aged children will now have settled into the swing of things for the new school year.
But for those with a child entering Reception sometime during the next one, this time can be a confusing one - packed with school open days and visits, making sure your child is ready, and filling out application forms to secure their place at a school which will work best for your family.
With primary school applications open now, we’ve taken a look at some of the top-performing state primary schools across the Tyne and Wear county - including the Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sunderland council areas - using our own special metric. The key figure it is based on is the proportion of each school’s pupils that completed Year 6 in the most recently-available school year (currently 2023/24), and met the Government’s expected standards in three essential skills; reading, writing and maths.
This data has now been finalised, so it is worth noting that results and placings may differ slightly from earlier reports based on interim results. Where multiple schools had the same percentage of young learners reach this target, they have been ordered alphabetically.
But performance certainly isn’t the only measure of a school’s learning environment, so we’ve also made sure each one had a positive rating in its latest Ofsted inspection. These are set to change very soon, but in the meantime, we’ve limited the list to schools with either a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the most recent one. This means that quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded Government standards.
Here were Tyne and Wear’s top 20 overall:
1. St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth
At the top of the list is St Leonard’s, a Catholic primary academy in Sunderland’s Silksworth area. It has a roll size of about 150, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 100% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards for reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 65% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
2. St Oswald's Catholic Primary School
St Oswald's is a Catholic primary academy in Gosforth, Newcastle. It has a roll size of about 209, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 97% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths – compared to averages of 63% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
3. Biddick Hall Junior School
Biddick Hall is a local authority-maintained junior school in South Shields, which takes pupils from the age of 7. It has a roll size of about 228, and in a recent Ofsted inspection, was found to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in 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
4. Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy
Benedict Biscop is an Anglican primary academy in Sunderland, with a roll size of about 304. In a 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