Cestria Primary School
Church Chare, Chester le Street, DH3 3PZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lorraine Gowland
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- North Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 426
- URN
- 114012
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913882483
About this school
Cestria Primary School is a community primary school in Chester le Street. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 426 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 57 | 57 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 88% | 93% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 19% | 21% |
| Expected standard in reading | 93% | 93% | 95% |
| Expected standard in maths | 95% | 93% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 93% | 96% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.50 | - | - |
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 Cestria 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 | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 88% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 93% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 407 |
| 2023/24 | 407 |
| 2024/25 | 392 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cestria Primary School compares
Cestria Primary School ranked 38th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 3% | 17.1% | 426 | — |
| St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Chester-Le-Street | 77% | 3.4% | 8.8% | 216 | 0.2 miles |
| Newker Primary School | 69% | 5.4% | 30.7% | 340 | 0.5 miles |
| Red Rose Primary School | 81% | 4.1% | 14.8% | 294 | 0.5 miles |
| Bullion Lane Primary School | 94% | 6% | 68.4% | 292 | 0.5 miles |
| Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School | 66% | 6.6% | 30.6% | 260 | 0.7 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report18 December 2024
- 10 December 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.09%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.04%
- Persistent absence
- 4.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Chester-Le-Street0.2 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Newker Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Red Rose Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Bullion Lane Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
Other schools in Chester le Street
Cestria Primary School ranks 7th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Chester le Street.
- Barley Mow Primary School Primary
- Bullion Lane Primary School Primary
- Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Lumley Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Lumley Junior School Primary
- Nettlesworth Primary School Primary
- Newker Primary School Primary
- Ouston Primary School Primary
- Pelton Community Primary School Primary
- Portobello Primary School Primary
- Ravensworth Terrace Primary School Primary
- Red Rose Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Cestria Primary School teach?
- Cestria Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Chester le Street.
- Who is the headteacher of Cestria Primary School?
- The headteacher of Cestria Primary School is Mrs Lorraine Gowland, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Cestria Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cestria 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 big is Cestria Primary School?
- Cestria Primary School has 426 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Cestria Primary School full?
- Cestria Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 426 on roll (101%), 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 Cestria Primary School a faith school?
- No. Cestria Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Cestria Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Cestria Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Cestria Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 88% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cestria Primary School rank locally?
- Cestria Primary School ranked 38th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cestria Primary School's absence rate?
- Cestria Primary School's overall absence rate is 3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cestria Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cestria 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.