School Chooser

Bearpark Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedCouncil105 pupilsNurseryDurhamCounty Durham
School Chooser Score
16
Below
similar schools
Likely range 6 to 41, so it could be “well below”
Out of 100. Better than 30% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, February 2024
Reached the expected level at 1131%England 63%
Attendance94.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families40%Far more than most schools
Places21 spare105 pupils, 126 places
Pupils per teacher20.2School workforce census

Bearpark Primary School is a council school in Durham for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 105 pupils and room for 126. About 40 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 17 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 30% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Colliery Road, Bearpark, Durham, DH7 7AU0191 384 8958atschool.eduweb.co.uk/bpark.durhamMrs Joanne Clements headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 27 February 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

13 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1131%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level8%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score100.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score99.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 18%18%20172018: 23%23%20182019: 42%42%20192023: 44%44%20232024: 67%67%20242025: 31%31%2025
Since 2017: +13%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017County DurhamEngland
Pupils tested131218121311
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths31%67%44%42%23%18%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths8%8%0%8%0%0%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score100.0106.0104.0102.097.095.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score99.0104.0102.0102.099.097.0104.1104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score102.0103.0103.0101.0100.098.0104.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard31%75%61%67%31%18%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard54%83%61%42%46%27%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)62%83%72%75%62%82%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.1-0.5-5.2-5.0
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.4-2.0-4.2-3.1
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged40%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged50%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
50%14%
Gap 36 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places96 pupils for 119 places, 2024/25
81% full

23 places were empty (19% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 5% 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 County Durham council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

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 roll105Census January 2026
Places12683% full
Pupils from low-income families40%40% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English15%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%21 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan7%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.34 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)37%£62,000 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls49 / 56
White British pupils78%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (8), language and communications needs (6), emotional and mental health (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Other difficulty or disability (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll1059989848798
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals40%43%52%51%39%38%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language15%8%6%2%1%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support26%30%24%15%12%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans6%5%4%5%4%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school17.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.1%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.9%7.9%6.8%6.9%4.9%5.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.9%5.5%5.2%5.1%3.6%4.2%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.1%2.5%1.6%1.8%1.3%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence17.1%21.3%24.7%23.9%15.0%12.5%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.

Teachers5.2full-time equivalent, 6 people
Pupils per teacher20.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£54,747
Teachers who left in the year17%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.02024/25

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£9,145England £7,738. Total £905k
Income per pupil£9,308England £7,697. Total £922k
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,105England £3,480
Money in reserve9%A healthy amount put by: £81k, £818 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£16kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£9,145spent 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 m23012 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate104 per 1,000 people14% higher than the England average
Typical house price£143,000County Durham
Nearest bus stop170 mCook Avenue, 8 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
Our Lady & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Ushaw MoorAcademy0.8 miles98Requires improvement 20232Compare
Silver Tree Primary School and NurseryCouncil0.8 miles201Good 202317Compare
New Brancepeth Primary AcademyAcademy1.4 miles109No overall grade 202489Compare
Witton Gilbert Primary SchoolCouncil1.5 miles188Good 202244Compare
Neville's Cross Primary School and NurseryCouncil1.7 miles277Good 202471Compare
Langley Park Primary SchoolAcademy1.8 miles183Requires improvement 20245Compare
Framwellgate Moor Primary SchoolCouncil1.9 miles375Outstanding 202497Compare
Langley Moor Primary SchoolCouncil2.0 miles195Good 202276Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Bearpark Primary School with the 47 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 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats30%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 17 is 13 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 3 · middle 30 · highest 91100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Bearpark Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Adderlane AcademyAcademy14.9 miles107Good 201956Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 17 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 17% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 6 to 41. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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 years25%below
-0.18
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 13 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.10
DfE progress measure; 13 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.10
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.06
2024/25; 88 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.06
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 13 pupils
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 Bearpark Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Bearpark Primary School scores 17 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 30% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 6 to 41, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Bearpark Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Bearpark Primary School good at its last full inspection on 27 February 2024.

How good are Bearpark Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 31% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 8% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Bearpark Primary School have?

105 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 126 places, so it is 83% full.

Is Bearpark Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 23 places were empty in 2024/25 (19% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Bearpark Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 17% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Bearpark Primary School?

The average class had 26.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Colliery Road, Bearpark, Durham, DH7 7AU
Telephone
0191 384 8958
Website
atschool.eduweb.co.uk/bpark.durham
Headteacher
Mrs Joanne Clements
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
County Durham
Ward
Deerness
Constituency
City of Durham
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
114129 · LAESTAB 8402477 · UKPRN 10073256

Where these figures come from