Whitley Lodge First School
Woodburn Drive, Whitley Bay, NE26 3HW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jennifer Palmer
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Tynemouth
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 230
- Pupils on roll
- 250
- URN
- 108600
- Local authority
- North Tyneside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01916076575
About this school
Whitley Lodge First School is a community primary school in Whitley Bay. It teaches children aged 3 to 9 and has 250 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Trends over time
How Whitley Lodge First 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 278 |
| 2023/24 | 266 |
| 2024/25 | 259 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Whitley Lodge First School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 100% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 2.4% | 8.5% | 250 | — |
| Coquet Park First School | — | 2.8% | 2.7% | 169 | 0.4 miles |
| Southridge First School | — | 2.2% | 6% | 321 | 0.5 miles |
| Marine Park First School | — | 3.1% | 7.4% | 476 | 0.9 miles |
| Appletree Gardens First School | — | 5.3% | 32.7% | 292 | 1.3 miles |
| Langley First School | — | 3.7% | 8.5% | 295 | 1.4 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 8.45%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 2.37%
- Persistent absence
- 0.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Coquet Park First School0.4 miles
Primary · Whitley Bay
-
Southridge First School0.5 miles
Primary · Whitley Bay
-
Marine Park First School0.9 miles
Primary · Whitley Bay
-
Appletree Gardens First School1.3 miles
Primary · Whitley Bay
-
Langley First School1.4 miles
Primary · Whitley Bay
Other schools in Whitley Bay
- Appletree Gardens First School Primary
- Coquet Park First School Primary
- Holywell Village First School Primary
- Langley First School Primary
- Marine Park First School Primary
- New Hartley First School Primary
- Rockcliffe First School Primary
- Seaton Delaval First School Primary
- Seaton Sluice First School Primary
- South Wellfield First School Primary
- Southridge First School Primary
- Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Whitley Bay Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Whitley Lodge First School teach?
- Whitley Lodge First School teaches children aged 3 to 9. It is a primary school in Whitley Bay.
- Who is the headteacher of Whitley Lodge First School?
- The headteacher of Whitley Lodge First School is Mrs Jennifer Palmer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Whitley Lodge First School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Whitley Lodge First 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 big is Whitley Lodge First School?
- Whitley Lodge First School has 250 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 9.
- Is Whitley Lodge First School full?
- Whitley Lodge First School has capacity for 230 pupils and 250 on roll (109%), so it is at or above 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 Whitley Lodge First School a faith school?
- No. Whitley Lodge First School has no designated religious character.
- Does Whitley Lodge First School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Whitley Lodge First School as having nursery classes.
- What is Whitley Lodge First School's absence rate?
- Whitley Lodge First School's overall absence rate is 2.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Whitley Lodge First School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Whitley Lodge First School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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 15 July 2026.