St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Chester-Le-Street

About St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Chester-Le-Street

St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School in Chester-Le-Street is a popular choice among local families, and the numbers tell a clear story. For entry in 2025/26, the school received 62 applications for just 23 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.7. Every one of those 23 places went to first-preference applicants, which suggests that for those who put it top of their list, it worked out. While the school doesn't publish a formal parent recommendation percentage, the sheer demand implies strong local confidence. The school is a state-funded Roman Catholic primary for mixed genders, with a nursery provision for children from age three. Headteacher Angela Garrity leads a school that currently has 220 pupils on roll, slightly below its capacity of 243, so there is a little breathing room despite the oversubscription. The most recent Ofsted inspection, in 2023, rated the school Good overall, with a standout Outstanding grade for behaviour and attitudes.

Academically, St Cuthbert's performs solidly against local benchmarks. At Key Stage 2 in 2023/24, 70% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is comfortably above the County Durham local authority average of 62%. The school's ranking within the LA places it 56th out of 170 primary schools, putting it in the top third locally. Looking at individual subjects, 81% met expectations in both reading and writing, and 78% in maths. Higher-standard attainment was strongest in writing, where 37% of pupils achieved the higher mark, compared with 30% in maths and 26% in reading. Average scaled scores were 106 in both reading and maths. The school does not publish progress scores for these subjects, so it is hard to say how much value it adds beyond attainment, but the raw results are respectable and above the LA norm.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for a primary, including a Forest School area, a sports hall, gymnasium, art studios, music rooms and a chapel. Sports on the curriculum include netball, tennis, athletics and swimming, and there is a good selection of clubs such as chess, choir, book club, gardening, film club and drama. For families with children who have additional needs, St Cuthbert's has stated SEND provisions covering moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health, speech language and communication, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is not a boarding school and has no sixth form. It suits families who want a faith-based primary with strong behaviour standards, above-average KS2 results, and a lively extracurricular offer, but who are prepared to compete for a place given the high oversubscription.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Chester-Le-Street

Helpful Guides for Parents