All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester

About All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester

All Saints' Catholic Primary School in Lanchester is a state primary in County Durham, a local authority with 208 primary schools. Among these, the school sits at rank 97, placing it just inside the top half of the authority. The top-performing peers in the area are Montalbo Nursery & Primary School, Cestria Primary School, and Shincliffe CofE (Controlled) Primary School, all of which score higher on the same ranking metric. The school is a Roman Catholic mixed primary for children aged 3 to 11, led by headteacher Frances Stephenson. It has a capacity of 210 pupils and currently enrols 169, meaning there is some room for growth. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 15.9 per cent. The school has nursery provision and a chapel on site, reflecting its faith-based character. In its most recent ungraded Ofsted inspection, carried out in April 2025, inspectors judged that standards were maintained, and the school retained its overall Good rating, a grade it has held consistently across inspections.

Academically, the school's Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show that 61 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined. This is just one point below the County Durham local authority average of 62 per cent. The school's ranking score of 61 places it in the bottom 50 per cent nationally, at the 54th percentile. In individual subjects, reading and writing both saw 77 per cent of pupils reach the expected standard, while maths was slightly higher at 81 per cent. At the higher standard, 10 per cent of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects. Reading average scores were 107 and maths 104. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing, or maths, so it is not possible to compare value-added directly. The Ofsted inspection from 2012, which was the last graded inspection, rated overall effectiveness as Good, with leadership and management also Good, and early years provision at a 2, the equivalent of Good.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 46 applications for just 14 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.29. Of those, 12 were first-preference applications, and all 12 received offers. This suggests strong local demand. Facilities include a dining hall, sports hall, ICT suite, gymnasium, outdoor playground, and a chapel. Sports on offer are tennis, football, gymnastics, and cricket, while clubs include art, drama, eco club, coding, and chess. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), social, emotional and mental health needs, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses, based on 32 respondents between September 2024 and September 2025, were overwhelmingly positive: 97 per cent would recommend the school, and 75 per cent strongly agreed that their child is happy and feels safe. This is a school that suits families looking for a faith-based primary with a strong local reputation and a clear sense of community, though those outside the catchment may find it competitive to get a place.

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