School Chooser

Bellingham Primary School

Primary · ages 4-8MixedFoundation64 pupilsHexhamNorthumberland
School Chooser Score
46
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 20 to 74, so it could be “below”
Out of 100. Better than 41% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, May 2025
Attendance95.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families8%Far fewer than most schools
Places41 spare64 pupils, 105 places
Pupils per teacher8.6School workforce census
Pupils on roll64Census January 2026

Bellingham Primary School is a foundation school in Hexham for boys and girls aged 4 to 8. It has 64 pupils and room for 105. About 8 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 46 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 41% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Redesmouth Road, Hexham, NE48 2EL01434 220230bellinghamprimary.northumberland.sch.ukMr Steve Gibson headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 7 May 2025, 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”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
15 June 2023UngradedSchool remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

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 106 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 places71 pupils for 105 places, 2024/25
68% full

34 places were empty (32% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 13% 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£187,000half sold for £144k to £281k
Homes sold43December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district-11%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 roll64Census January 2026
Places10561% full
Pupils from low-income families8%8% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English0%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support13%8 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%2 pupils with a plan
Average class size16.02 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)6%£6,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls29 / 35
White British pupils100%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1), emotional and mental health (1), language and communications needs (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll647165746363
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals8%16%12%14%11%11%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%0%0%0%2%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%15%15%11%8%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%3%1%3%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school8.9%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils5.62024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.9%6.4%6.9%4.5%3.7%4.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.3%4.2%5.3%3.3%3.4%2.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.6%2.2%1.7%1.2%0.3%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence8.9%18.6%25.9%2.0%6.0%9.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate5.60.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers7.4full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher8.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants4.3full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,306
Teachers who left in the year62%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.92024/25

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£8,353England £7,738. Total £593k
Income per pupil£8,126England £7,697. Total £577k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,311England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £21k, £294 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£16kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,353spent 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 m812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate32 per 1,000 people65% lower than the England average
Typical house price£207,950Northumberland
Nearest bus stop300 mHeritage Centre, 1 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
Bellingham Middle School and Sports CollegeFoundation0 m46Good 20198Compare
Wark Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy4.1 miles69Report card 202678Compare
Greenhaugh Primary SchoolCouncil4.1 miles13Good 202288Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Bellingham Primary School with the 44 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 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats41%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 46 is 10 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 55 · highest 99100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 46 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 46% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 20 to 74. 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 years0%no data
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.03
Ofsted grade, 1.4 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.20
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.12
2024/25; 56 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 Bellingham Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Bellingham Primary School scores 46 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 41% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 20 to 74, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Bellingham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Bellingham Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 7 May 2025.

How many pupils does Bellingham Primary School have?

64 pupils aged 4 to 8 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 105 places, so it is 61% full.

Is Bellingham Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 34 places were empty in 2024/25 (32% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Bellingham Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 9% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Bellingham Primary School?

The average class had 16.0 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
Redesmouth Road, Hexham, NE48 2EL
Telephone
01434 220230
Website
www.bellinghamprimary.northumberland.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Steve Gibson
Type of school
Foundation school (Foundation school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-8
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Local authority
Northumberland
Ward
Bellingham
Constituency
Hexham
Setting
Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
URN
122183 · LAESTAB 9292043 · UKPRN 10080103

Where these figures come from