Kingsley Primary School

About Kingsley Primary School

Kingsley Primary School in Hartlepool sits at the bottom of the local league tables for its key stage 2 results, ranking 25th out of 26 primary schools in the local authority. Its headline metric — the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — stands at 51%, a full 17 percentage points below the Hartlepool average of 68%. That places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for this measure, and only one other school in the borough ranks lower. The gap is even starker when you look at the highest-performing local primaries: St John Vianney Catholic Primary, Hart Primary and Fens Primary all score 79 or above. Kingsley's ranking score of 51 puts it firmly in the bottom tier, a pattern that parents considering the school will want to weigh carefully against its other strengths.

The school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in 2019, rated it Good overall, with Good marks for leadership and management, and for early years provision. That's a significant improvement from its previous inspection in 2016, when it was judged to Require Improvement. A subsequent ungraded inspection in November 2024 confirmed that standards have been maintained. On the academic front, the picture is mixed. While 70% of pupils met the expected standard in reading and 69% in writing — close to the national average — maths was weaker at 66%. Only 3% of pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it's hard to say whether children are catching up from a low starting point. The school's average scaled scores of 104 in maths and 105 in reading are broadly in line with national averages, suggesting that most children are making typical progress, but the combined expected standard figure remains a concern.

Kingsley is a larger-than-average primary, with 460 pupils against a capacity of 420, and it was oversubscribed for 2025/26 entry, receiving 99 applications for 49 places. All 49 first-preference applicants were offered a place, giving a 2.02 oversubscription ratio. The school has a nursery provision for children from age two, and a wide range of facilities including a sports hall, library, art studios and playing fields. It offers clubs such as drama, choir, chess and coding, and sports including football, athletics and cricket. The SEND provision is notably broad, covering specific learning difficulties, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities, with a resourced provision on site. Parent views are overwhelmingly positive: 88% would recommend the school, and strong majorities agreed that their child is happy, safe and well-supported, including 70% who strongly agreed that SEND children get the support they need. This is a school that clearly inspires loyalty among its families, even if its academic outcomes lag behind the local average.

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