1
Kirk Merrington Primary School
Spennymoor • County Durham • DL16 7JB
1
24 Apr 2024
Top 10 Primary schools in County Durham
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2019)
This Top 10 showcases primary schools in the county of County Durham. It’s built from the latest graded Ofsted inspections. We rank Outstanding (grade 1) above Good (grade 2), then prioritise newer inspections. As tie-breakers, we consider the “Quality of education” sub-judgement (where available), then %FSM and school size.
Total primary schools
201
Outstanding
11
Good
164
Median inspection year
2019
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 6% · G: 88% · RI: 6% · I: 1%
2
Thornhill Primary School
Shildon • County Durham • DL4 1ES
1
20 Mar 2023
3
Montalbo Nursery & Primary School
Barnard Castle • County Durham • DL12 8TN
1
8 Mar 2023
4
St John's Church of England Academy
Darlington • County Durham • DL1 4UB
1
17 Nov 2022
5
West Cornforth Primary School
Ferryhill • County Durham • DL17 9HP
1
11 Dec 2018
6
Sugar Hill Primary School
Newton Aycliffe • County Durham • DL5 5NU
1
17 Oct 2017
7
St Michael's Church of England Primary School
Ferryhill • County Durham • DL17 9AL
1
11 Oct 2017
8
Howden-le-Wear Primary School
Crook • County Durham • DL15 8HJ
1
5 Feb 2015
9
Witton-le-Wear Primary School
Bishop Auckland • County Durham • DL14 0BG
1
20 May 2013
10
St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley
Chester le Street • County Durham • DH3 2PN
1
10 May 2013
How we rank these schools
- Headline Ofsted grade: Outstanding (1) outranks Good (2), then RI (3), then Inadequate (4).
- More recent graded inspection dates rank higher.
- Where available, we use the Quality of education sub-judgement as a tie-breaker.
- Lower free school meals (%) may break remaining ties.
- Larger roll (pupil count) is a final tie-breaker.
Only the ten highest-ranked schools are shown; we also list “near misses” just below.
About Ofsted grades
- Outstanding (1): Highest judgement across key areas.
- Good (2): Strong effectiveness; meets standards consistently.
- Requires improvement (3): Not yet good; clear areas to improve.
- Inadequate (4): Significant weaknesses found.
Ungraded Section 8 visits check whether the previous graded judgement still stands, but they don’t replace it.
Data freshness & coverage
We refresh inspections and school snapshots regularly. If a school was inspected very recently, its report may not yet appear here.
Top-10 pages only appear for areas with at least 10 primary schools that have a graded Ofsted inspection.
Map of the Top 10
Also highly rated nearby
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston 1 • Jan 2012
- St Augustine's Catholic Primary School 2 • Sep 2024
- Benfieldside Primary School 2 • Sep 2024
- Lumley Infant and Nursery School 2 • Sep 2024
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor 2 • Sep 2024
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton 2 • Sep 2024
- St William's Catholic Primary School 2 • Jul 2024
- Springmoor Grange School 2 • Jul 2024
- Seaview Primary School 2 • Jul 2024
- South Stanley Junior School 2 • Jun 2024