St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Pelaw

About St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Pelaw

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School, Pelaw, is a state primary in Gateshead, a local authority with 66 primary schools of which six are rated Outstanding. The school itself sits at rank 37 in the LA, placing it in the bottom half of local primaries, though it is worth noting that the top three peers in the area — St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon, Clover Hill Community Primary School, and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School, Dunston — all score higher on the same ranking metric. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead, 4.2 km away. St Alban’s is a Roman Catholic mixed school for children aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site. It has 206 pupils against a capacity of 210, and 17.5 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is slightly above the national average for primary schools.

In its most recent graded inspection in 2017, St Alban’s was rated Good overall, with Good for leadership and management, and Good for early years provision. An ungraded inspection in January 2024 confirmed the school remains Good. At Key Stage 2 in 2023/24, 62 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — just below the Gateshead LA average of 64 per cent. Reading scores were the strongest area, with 79 per cent reaching the expected standard and 28 per cent achieving a higher standard. In maths, 72 per cent met the expected standard, with an average score of 103, while writing saw 72 per cent at expected and 10 per cent at a higher level. Only 3 per cent of pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects. Nationally, the school ranks in the 53rd percentile, and in the North East region it sits in the 57th percentile.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 28 applications for 9 places and a first-preference offer rate of 9, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.11. Facilities include a sensory room, forest school, chapel, music rooms, art studios, library, sports hall, and playing fields. Sports offered are athletics, swimming, dance, and cross country, and clubs include coding, choir, chess, film club, and book club. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a small Catholic primary with a strong community feel, suited to families who value a faith-based setting and want a school that, while not among the highest performers locally, provides consistent Good-rated provision and a broad range of enrichment activities.

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