Berwick Hills Primary School

About Berwick Hills Primary School

Berwick Hills Primary School sits at the bottom of the Middlesbrough league tables for primary schools, ranking 37th out of 37 in the local authority based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure stands at just 30%, less than half the local authority average of 62%. The gap is stark, and it is the single most defining feature of this school’s headline data. While the school serves a community with very high levels of disadvantage — 72.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals — the outcomes suggest that, on this key metric, the school is significantly underperforming relative to its peers in the same borough. It is worth noting, however, that the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2023 rated it Good overall, with Good marks across every category including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership. That judgement suggests inspectors saw strengths that the raw exam data alone does not capture.

Looking beyond the headline combined figure, the KS2 results paint a more nuanced picture. In writing, 70% of pupils met the expected standard, which is a solid result and well above the school’s own combined average. Reading and maths both saw 43% of pupils reach the expected standard, while the average scaled scores were 98 for reading and 97 for maths — close to the national baseline of 100. At the higher standard, the numbers are very low: just 5% in reading, 2% in maths and 2% in writing. No pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects. The school’s national ranking places it in the bottom 3% of all primary schools on the combined measure, and in the bottom 2.5% within the North East region. The previous Ofsted inspection in 2014 also rated the school Good, so the overall judgement has been consistent, but the academic outcomes suggest there is considerable ground to make up compared with the Middlesbrough average.

Berwick Hills is a larger-than-average primary with 346 pupils against a capacity of 315, meaning it is oversubscribed. For the 2025/26 intake, there were 63 applications for 42 places, with 41 of those coming as first preferences — a ratio of 1.5 applicants per place. The school offers a nursery provision for children from age three, and its facilities include a gymnasium, sensory room, library, sports hall, ICT suite, music rooms and art studios. There is also a chapel on site. The SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and hearing impairment. Extra-curricular clubs include book club, chess, science club, gardening and drama, while sports on offer range from rounders and gymnastics to athletics, tennis, dance and netball. This is a school that will suit families who value a Good Ofsted rating and a broad range of facilities, but who are realistic about the academic challenges posed by a highly disadvantaged intake and results that fall well short of the local average.

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