School Chooser

Shilbottle Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademy71 pupilsAlnwickNorthumberland
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredThere isn't enough published data yet. To get a score, a school needs results or an inspection plus at least one other figure.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, January 2023
Reached the expected level at 1147%England 63%
Attendance94.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families16%Far fewer than most schools
Places80 spare71 pupils, 151 places
Pupils per teacher25.4School workforce census

Shilbottle Primary School is a converter academy in Alnwick for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 71 pupils and room for 151. About 16 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Shilbottle Grange, Shilbottle, Alnwick, NE66 2XQ01665 575285shilbottle.northumberland.sch.ukMr Craig Shaw headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 January 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

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

15 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. These are the results of Shilbottle Primary School, the school this one replaced.

Reached the expected level at 1147%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score107.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score103.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2018 to 2025
2018: 46%46%20182019: 58%58%20192023: 54%54%20232024: 80%80%20242025: 47%47%2025
Since 2018: +1%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025†2024†2023†2019†2018†NorthumberlandEngland
Pupils tested1515133124
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths47%80%54%58%46%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%20%0%6%4%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score107.0108.0104.0103.0104.0104.5105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score103.0106.0101.0101.099.0103.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score108.0105.0106.0101.0101.0103.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard87%93%85%74%67%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard67%80%54%65%50%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)67%80%69%77%83%
Reading progressReading progress score-3.4-2.7-3.7
Maths progressMaths progress score-5.8-4.8-7.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged67%43%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged89%63%

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.

† These results are for Shilbottle Primary School, the school this one replaced in June 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

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
57%38%
Gap 19 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.

Catchment area

Northumberland council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 16 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.

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£230,000half sold for £175k to £282k
Homes sold55December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district+10%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 the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll71Census January 2026
Places15147% full
Pupils from low-income families16%16% 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%9 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan1%1 pupil with a plan
Average class size10.56 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)15%£15,500 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls33 / 38
White British pupils100%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 7.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 11.7 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (3), language and communications needs (3), emotional and mental health (2), Specific learning difficulty (2).

Attendance and behaviour

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

Attendance94.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school7.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Missed without permission1.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/25†2023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.2%6.3%5.9%5.8%2.5%4.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.4%3.7%3.4%4.3%1.6%2.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.7%2.6%2.4%1.6%0.9%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence7.6%15.3%15.1%13.3%5.5%11.0%12.8%

† These attendance figures are for Shilbottle Primary School, the school this one replaced in June 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers2.8full-time equivalent, 3 people
Pupils per teacher25.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants2.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,552
Vacancies0

Money

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

Money in reserve-30%In the red: -£46k, -£656 per pupil
Money in against money out+£6,000it took in more than it spent this year

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 m3812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate69 per 1,000 people25% lower than the England average
Typical house price£207,950Northumberland
Nearest bus stop90 mSchool, 4 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
Hipsburn Primary SchoolCouncil2.7 miles102Good 202372Compare
St Paul's Catholic Primary School, AlnwickAcademy2.9 miles197Good 202465Compare
Swansfield Park Primary SchoolAcademy2.9 miles383Good 2023Compare
NCEA Warkworth Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy3.3 miles200Good 202373Compare
Ncea Harry Hotspur Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy3.3 miles104Good 202240Compare
Swarland Primary SchoolCouncil3.8 miles76No overall grade 202474Compare
King Edwin Primary SchoolCouncil4.6 miles161Good 201954Compare
Amble Links Primary SchoolCouncil4.9 miles216No overall grade 202485Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Shilbottle Primary School a good school?

Shilbottle Primary School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in January 2023.

What is Shilbottle Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Shilbottle Primary School good at its last full inspection on 24 January 2023.

How good are Shilbottle Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 47% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% 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 Shilbottle Primary School have?

71 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 151 places, so it is 47% full.

What is attendance like at Shilbottle Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 8% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Shilbottle Primary School?

The average class had 10.5 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
Shilbottle Grange, Shilbottle, Alnwick, NE66 2XQ
Telephone
01665 575285
Website
www.shilbottle.northumberland.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Craig Shaw
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Pele Trust (14 schools)
Local authority
Northumberland
Ward
Shilbottle
Constituency
North Northumberland
Setting
Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
Opened
1 June 2025 (academy converter)
URN
151714 · LAESTAB 9292281 · UKPRN 10097618
Formerly
Shilbottle Primary School

Where these figures come from