School Chooser

Amble Links Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedCouncil216 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubMorpethNorthumberland
School Chooser Score
85
Above
similar schools
Likely range 66 to 94
Out of 100. Better than 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, November 2024
Attendance95.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families28%About the same as most schools in England
PlacesFull216 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher22.1School workforce census
Pupils on roll216Census January 2026

Amble Links Primary School is a council school in Morpeth for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 216 pupils, 6 more than it has places for. About 28 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 85 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Links Avenue, Links Estate, Amble, Morpeth, NE65 0SA01665 710667amblelinks.northumberland.sch.ukMr Paul Heeley headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 12 November 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
8 July 2021UngradedSchool remains Good

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Catchment area

Northumberland council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 6.0 square kilometres. Living inside it moves your child up the queue when there are more applicants than places. It doesn't guarantee a place: the council's admissions rules decide the order.

Set your home postcode at the top of the page to see whether you live inside it.

Plenty of spare places157 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
75% full

53 places were empty (25% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 22% since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Northumberland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

What a home inside the catchment costs

Typical sale price inside the catchment£239,701half sold for £170k to £300k
Homes sold148December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district+15%a typical home in the district sells for £209,085

Every home sold inside the council's catchment area, of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll216Census January 2026
Places210103% full
Pupils from low-income families27%28% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English1%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support11%24 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size25.37 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)33%£93,000 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls95 / 121
White British pupils97%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 24.7 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (11), Moderate learning difficulty (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (5), emotional and mental health (5), Specific learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll216200182178182179
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals27%26%20%21%16%20%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1%1%1%0%0%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support10%8%7%3%6%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%1%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school5.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.6%5.1%5.5%6.2%2.6%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.9%3.0%3.1%4.3%1.7%3.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.7%2.1%2.4%1.8%0.9%0.9%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence5.8%8.4%10.3%17.0%2.8%3.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers9.7full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher22.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,897
Teachers who left in the year23%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.12024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,200England £7,738. Total £1.2m
Income per pupil£6,046England £7,697. Total £1.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,106England £3,480
Money in reserve2%Very little put by: £28k, £142 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£30kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,200spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m19712 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate69 per 1,000 people25% lower than the England average
Typical house price£207,950Northumberland
Nearest bus stop130 mLinks Avenue, 3 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
King Edwin Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles161Good 201954Compare
NCEA Warkworth Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy1.7 miles200Good 202373Compare
Broomhill Primary SchoolCouncil2.6 miles80Report card 20266Compare
Red Row Primary SchoolCouncil3.4 miles131Good 202341Compare
Hipsburn Primary SchoolCouncil4.7 miles102Good 202372Compare
Shilbottle Primary SchoolAcademy4.9 miles71Good 2023Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Amble Links Primary School with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats96%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 85 is 45 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 10 · middle 40 · highest 95100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 85 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 85% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 66 to 94. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
Ofsted inspection20%above
+0.47
Ofsted grade, 1.8 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.11
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.15
2024/25; 138 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Amble Links Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Amble Links Primary School scores 85 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 66 to 94, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Amble Links Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Amble Links Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 12 November 2024.

How many pupils does Amble Links Primary School have?

216 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 103% full.

Is Amble Links Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 53 places were empty in 2024/25 (25% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Amble Links Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 6% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Amble Links Primary School?

The average class had 25.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Amble Links Primary School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Links Avenue, Links Estate, Amble, Morpeth, NE65 0SA
Telephone
01665 710667
Website
www.amblelinks.northumberland.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Paul Heeley
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Northumberland
Ward
Amble
Constituency
North Northumberland
Setting
Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
URN
122173 · LAESTAB 9292018 · UKPRN 10080106

Where these figures come from