Forest Hall Primary School

About Forest Hall Primary School

Forest Hall Primary School is a state-funded mixed primary in North Tyneside, serving children aged 3 to 11 under headteacher Carmel Parker. It sits 36th out of 38 primary schools in the local authority, placing it in the bottom tier of the LA rankings. For context, the top-performing nearby peers include Cullercoats Primary School, New York Primary School, and St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Cullercoats, all scoring significantly higher on the same ranking metric. The school is relatively small, with 157 pupils against a capacity of 210, and a notably high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 42.3%. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2021 rated the school Good across all five categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This marks a clear improvement from its previous inspection in 2017, when the school was graded Requires Improvement overall, with early years and leadership both rated Requires Improvement at that time.

Academically, Forest Hall’s Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 year show that just 26% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined — well below the North Tyneside LA average of 62%. The school ranks in the bottom 50 nationally on this metric, at the 98th percentile. Looking at individual subjects, 44% reached the expected standard in reading, 48% in writing, and 41% in maths. Higher attainment — working at greater depth — was low across the board: 15% in reading, 4% in writing, and 7% in maths. Average scaled scores were 100 in reading and 98 in maths. No progress scores are available for any subject, so it’s not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The data suggests that while the school has improved its Ofsted rating, academic outcomes remain a significant area of challenge compared with local and national benchmarks.

The school offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, library, ICT suite, music rooms, and a chapel, plus a Forest School programme. Sports on offer include gymnastics, cricket, dance, and athletics, and there are clubs such as Eco Club, Art Club, Chess, Choir, and Book Club. For children with additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech and language communication needs, social and emotional mental health, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. Nursery provision is available for younger children. Admissions for the 2025/26 year show the school was oversubscribed: 46 applications for 17 places, with 13 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.71. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Benton Dene Primary School, 0.9 km away. This school may suit families in the immediate area who value a small setting with strong pastoral and SEND support, but those prioritising academic outcomes may want to compare results with higher-ranked local options.

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