High Spen Primary School
Hugar Road, High Spen, Rowlands Gill, NE39 2BQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Firth
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Blaydon and Consett
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 172
- URN
- 108340
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01207542373
About this school
High Spen Primary School is a community primary school in Rowlands Gill. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 172 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected High Spen Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 June 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 25 | 30 | 14 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 68% | 67% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 3% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 80% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 87% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 67% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 112.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How High Spen Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Gateshead average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 68% | 61.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 61.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 199 |
| 2023/24 | 192 |
| 2024/25 | 184 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How High Spen Primary School compares
High Spen Primary School ranked 25th of 62 primary schools in Gateshead for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 5.2% | 27.2% | 172 | — |
| Highfield Community Primary School | 57% | 5.4% | 56.2% | 112 | 1.2 miles |
| St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, Highfield | 80% | 3.2% | 26.8% | 81 | 1.2 miles |
| Chopwell Primary School | 60% | 6.4% | 46.1% | 226 | 1.6 miles |
| Greenside Primary School | 83% | 4.4% | 27.5% | 172 | 1.6 miles |
| Rowlands Gill Community Primary School | 52% | 3.3% | 20.5% | 204 | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 27.15%
- English as an additional language
- 3.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.17%
- Persistent absence
- 12.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Highfield Community Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Rowlands Gill
-
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, Highfield1.2 miles
Primary · Rowlands Gill
-
Chopwell Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Greenside Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Ryton
-
Rowlands Gill Community Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Rowlands Gill
Other schools in Rowlands Gill
Common questions
- What ages does High Spen Primary School teach?
- High Spen Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Rowlands Gill.
- Who is the headteacher of High Spen Primary School?
- The headteacher of High Spen Primary School is Mr Andrew Firth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has High Spen Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected High Spen Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at High Spen Primary School?
- High Spen Primary School has 172 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is High Spen Primary School full?
- High Spen Primary School has capacity for 240 pupils and 172 on roll (72%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is High Spen Primary School a faith school?
- No. High Spen Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does High Spen Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records High Spen Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have High Spen Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 68% in 2022/23 and 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does High Spen Primary School compare with other schools in Gateshead?
- High Spen Primary School ranked 25th of 62 primary schools in Gateshead for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is High Spen Primary School's absence rate?
- High Spen Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are High Spen Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, High Spen Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.