Cragside Primary School

About Cragside Primary School

Cragside Primary School is a state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11, located in the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority. It ranks 16th out of 55 primary schools in the area, placing it comfortably in the top third locally. The top-performing peers in the same authority are St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Gosforth, St Vincents Catholic Primary School, Newcastle, and St Charles' Catholic Primary School, all of which sit above Cragside in the rankings. The school is one of only eight primaries in Newcastle to hold an Outstanding rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across its two most recent inspections, including a full graded inspection in March 2025. Its nearest Outstanding-rated neighbour is Benton Park Primary School, just 0.8 kilometres away. With a capacity of 420 and 407 pupils on roll, the school is nearly full, and its 6.4 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals is notably below the national average, reflecting a relatively advantaged intake.

Academically, Cragside performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 69 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Newcastle average of 63 per cent. The school also excels at the higher standard: 27 per cent of pupils achieved that benchmark, with particularly strong results in reading and maths, where 44 per cent of pupils scored at the higher level in each subject. Average scaled scores in both reading and maths were 108, comfortably above the national baseline of 100. Ofsted's March 2025 inspection awarded Outstanding grades across every category judged, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision. Leadership and management were also rated Outstanding. The school's national ranking places it in the top 35 per cent of all primaries, and in the North East region it sits in the top 37 per cent.

Cragside is heavily oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 201 applications for 60 places, a ratio of 3.35 applicants per place, with 47 of the 48 first-preference applicants offered a spot. The school's facilities include a sports hall, gymnasium, art studios, ICT suite, sensory room and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include cricket, gymnastics, athletics, tennis, netball and cross country, while clubs range from drama and coding to art and eco club. The school provides SEND support for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 176 respondents show strong satisfaction: 94 per cent agreed or strongly agreed their child is happy, and 95 per cent felt their child is safe. However, only 66 per cent agreed that concerns are dealt with properly, and 56 per cent agreed that SEND children receive the support they need, suggesting areas where some families feel less confident. This is a high-performing, popular school best suited to families who can secure a place through the oversubscribed admissions process.

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