Larkspur Community Primary School

About Larkspur Community Primary School

Larkspur Community Primary School is a state primary in Gateshead, serving 157 pupils from ages 2 to 11 under headteacher Katy Anglesea. It sits at 55th out of 61 primary schools in the local authority, placing it in the bottom half of Gateshead’s state primaries. The three top-ranked peers in the area are St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon, Clover Hill Community Primary School, and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School, Dunston. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead, about 2.9 kilometres away. Larkspur’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, rated the school Requires Improvement overall, a downgrade from its previous Good rating in 2019. The inspection found that quality of education, early years provision, and leadership and management all require improvement, while behaviour and attitudes and personal development were judged Good. The school has a nursery provision and is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, it received 19 applications for 8 places, with 9 first-preference applications and 8 first-preference offers.

Academically, Larkspur’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show 45% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well below the Gateshead local authority average of 64%. The school ranks in the bottom 50 nationally on this metric, at 11,746th out of 13,686 primaries. In individual subjects, 91% met the expected standard in reading and 82% in maths, but only 45% did so in writing. At the higher standard, 9% achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects, with 27% reaching it in reading, 18% in maths and 18% in writing. Average scaled scores were 107 in reading and 106 in maths. Progress scores are not available in the data. The school’s ranking within the North East region is 597th out of 677 primary schools, placing it in the 88th percentile regionally.

Despite the academic challenges, parent feedback is notably positive. In the Parent View survey covering September 2024 to September 2025, 93% of the 42 respondents would recommend the school. Strong agreement was high: 69% strongly agreed their child is happy and feels safe, and 92% strongly agreed that SEND children receive the support they need. The school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication needs. Facilities include a sensory room, forest school, library, music rooms, ICT suite and a chapel. Sports on offer include athletics, swimming, gymnastics, cricket, netball, football and rounders, with clubs such as coding, science club, art club and choir. With 68.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, Larkspur serves a high-deprivation community, and its oversubscription suggests strong local demand. It may suit families who prioritise a supportive, inclusive atmosphere and are comfortable with a school that is actively working on improving academic outcomes.

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