Cestria Primary School

About Cestria Primary School

Cestria Primary School holds a Good rating from Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in 2019, and an ungraded visit in December 2024 confirmed that standards are being maintained. The school’s academic story is best told through its Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year, which are exceptionally strong. A remarkable 93% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of just 62% for primary schools in County Durham. That puts Cestria second out of 208 primary schools in the county, and in the top 2% nationally. The school also excels at the higher standard: 19% of pupils achieved that benchmark across all three subjects, while 51% reached the higher standard in reading alone. These figures place Cestria firmly among the highest-performing primaries in the North East.

Digging deeper into the Ofsted breakdown, inspectors rated behaviour and attitudes, and early years provision, as Outstanding in the 2019 graded inspection. The early years judgement is particularly notable given that the school offers nursery provision for children aged three and above. In the classroom, pupils achieved an average reading score of 109 and an average maths score of 107, both comfortably above the national average of 100. The school’s Progress 8 data is not available, but the attainment figures speak for themselves. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 98% of the 129 respondents would recommend the school, and 100% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy and feels safe. The school’s capacity is 420, and with 392 pupils on roll, it is nearly full but not yet at capacity.

Cestria is a mixed, non-denominational state primary for children aged 3 to 11, and it is clearly popular. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 161 applications for just 50 places, making it oversubscribed by a ratio of 3.22 to one. Only 46 first-preference offers were made, so securing a place is competitive. The school has a broad range of facilities including an ICT suite, library, gymnasium, art studios and playing fields, plus clubs such as coding, art, gardening and science. Its SEND provisions are extensive, covering moderate and severe learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and social, emotional and mental health support. For families who value strong academic outcomes, a structured environment and a school that parents overwhelmingly trust, Cestria Primary School is a standout choice in County Durham.

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