Castle Primary School

About Castle Primary School

Castle Primary School, a state primary in Newcastle-under-Lyme, holds a Good rating from Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in 2023, a rating it has maintained consistently across both its inspections. The school’s strongest academic metric comes from its Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year, where 86% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure sits well above the Staffordshire local authority average of 65% for the same measure, placing Castle Primary second out of 35 primary schools in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area and in the top 5% nationally. In individual subjects, every pupil reached the expected standard in maths, while 93% did so in both reading and writing. The school also achieved a higher-than-average scaled score of 107 in maths and 108 in reading, with 21% of pupils reaching the higher standard in maths.

Across all Ofsted categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — inspectors rated the school Good. The previous inspection in 2013 also awarded Good for overall effectiveness and leadership, so the school has a solid track record. While no progress scores are available for reading, writing or maths, the strong attainment outcomes suggest pupils are performing well against national benchmarks. The school’s ranking score of 86 places it in the top tier locally, though it sits behind three peer schools that achieved a perfect ranking score of 100. For parents prioritising academic outcomes, Castle Primary’s results are notably strong, particularly given its small size of just 80 pupils against a capacity of 120.

The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 31 applications for 15 places and 14 first-preference offers made from 16 first-preference applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.07. It offers a nursery provision for children from age three and caters for a range of special educational needs, including dyslexia, speech and language communication needs, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Facilities include a dining hall, library, playing fields, gymnasium and a chapel, while sports on offer range from tennis and swimming to netball and gymnastics. Clubs include book club, drama and choir. For families seeking a small, Good-rated primary with strong academic outcomes and a clear SEND offer, Castle Primary is a competitive choice, though proximity to the nearest Outstanding school — Knypersley First School, 2.3 km away — may be a factor for some.

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