School Chooser

Prior Park Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil110 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubBerwick-upon-TweedNorthumberland
School Chooser Score
46
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 20 to 73, so it could be “below”
Out of 100. Better than 78% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, June 2023
Attendance95.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families42%Far more than most schools
Places100 spare110 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher21.3School workforce census
Pupils on roll110Census January 2026

Prior Park Primary School is a council school in Berwick-upon-Tweed for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 110 pupils and room for 210. About 42 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 46 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 78% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Dean Drive, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 2DB01289 306667tweedmouthpriorpark.northumberland.sch.ukMrs Deborah Currans headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 21 June 2023, 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

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 1.6 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 places96 pupils for 150 places, 2024/25
64% full

54 places were empty (36% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 23% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

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£141,500half sold for £130k to £170k
Homes sold33December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district-32%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 roll110Census January 2026
Places21052% full
Pupils from low-income families39%42% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English6%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support19%21 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size22.05 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)44%£72,850 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls59 / 51
White British pupils93%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (12), language and communications needs (12), Autistic spectrum disorder (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll110108115125142157
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals39%37%25%24%25%20%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language6%6%4%2%3%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support19%33%29%26%19%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%4%1%1%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school10.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.0%5.5%5.4%6.8%3.2%5.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.8%3.8%3.9%5.3%2.7%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.8%1.5%1.5%0.5%1.9%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence10.5%19.1%15.8%20.8%3.7%8.7%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.

Teachers5.0full-time equivalent, 5 people
Pupils per teacher21.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants3.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,993
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.42024/25

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£8,146England £7,738. Total £839k
Income per pupil£8,141England £7,697. Total £839k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,577England £3,480
Money in reserve2%Very little put by: £20k, £194 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£432it spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,146spent 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 m15312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate67 per 1,000 people26% lower than the England average
Typical house price£207,950Northumberland
Nearest bus stop130 mCemetery Lane, 17 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
Spittal Community Primary SchoolCouncil0.6 miles128Not inspectedCompare
Tweedmouth West Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles145Good 202031Compare
St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, BerwickAcademy0.8 miles98Not inspectedCompare
Holy Trinity Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England1.4 miles161Good 202351Compare
Scremerston First SchoolCouncil1.4 miles38No overall grade 202530Compare
Berwick St Mary's Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England2.1 miles121Good 202331Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Prior Park 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.

Beats78%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 46 is 23 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 23 · highest 89100

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 73. 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% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.02
Ofsted grade, 3.2 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.09
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.01
2024/25; 76 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 Prior Park Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Prior Park Primary School scores 46 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 78% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 20 to 73, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Prior Park Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Prior Park Primary School good at its last full inspection on 21 June 2023.

How many pupils does Prior Park Primary School have?

110 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 52% full.

Is Prior Park Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 54 places were empty in 2024/25 (36% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Prior Park Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 11% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Prior Park Primary School?

The average class had 22.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Prior Park 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
Dean Drive, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 2DB
Telephone
01289 306667
Website
www.tweedmouthpriorpark.northumberland.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Deborah Currans
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 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Northumberland
Ward
Berwick West with Ord
Constituency
North Northumberland
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
URN
122187 · LAESTAB 9292050 · UKPRN 10080100

Where these figures come from