Across the North East, nearly 25 thousand young children will be gearing up to enter Reception in just a few months’ time - setting out on a lifelong learning journey.
The end of the current school year is now just weeks away, with the summer holidays set to begin around July 23 in most parts of England. Pupils will then return to the classroom for the the new, 2025/26 school year at the start of September.
The primary school years are perhaps more important than many realise, with schools helping children build key academic skills that will serve them throughout the rest of their time in formal education. This is why it’s so important that their primary school in the right fit for them, supporting them while they grow, and empowering them to learn.
This is why we’ve revisited at the top-performing primary schools across the North East of England different local authority areas, based on our own unique metric. The key figure it’s based on is the proportion of each school’s pupils who completed Year 6 in the most recently-completed 2023/24 academic year, and met the government’s expected standards in three essential school skills areas: reading, writing and maths.
On top of that, we made sure that each school included had a positive rating in its latest Ofsted inspections. These are in the middle of some big changes, but we’ve restricted the list to schools with either a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one. This means their quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices have all met or exceeded government standards.
Here were the 21 schools that made the grade:
1. Montalbo Nursery & Primary School
At the top of the list is this local authority-maintained primary school in Barnard Castle, County Durham. It has a roll size of about 237, and was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an exceptional 100% of its Year 6 pupils meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths - compared to averages of 60% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
2. St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth
Next up is St Leonard’s, a Catholic primary academy in Silksworth, Sunderland. It has a roll size of about 150, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it too was one of just a handful of schools nationwide to have 100% of its Year 6 pupils meet the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths. | Google
3. St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Gosforth
St Oswald’s is a Catholic primary academy in the Gosforth area, Newcastle. It has about 209 pupils, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 97% of its Year 6 pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths - compared to averages of 63% locally and 61% nationally. | Google
4. Badger Hill Academy
Badger Hill is a primary academy in Brotton, Redcar and Cleveland. It has a roll size of about 140, and was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, 95% of its pupils met the Government’s expected standards in reading, writing, and maths - compared to averages of 64% locally and 61% nationally. | Google