Cotherstone Primary School
Cotherstone, Barnard Castle, DL12 9QB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Julie Gibson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Federation
- Bowes Cotherstone Federation
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 84
- Pupils on roll
- 66
- URN
- 114020
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01833650491
About this school
Cotherstone Primary School is a community primary school in Barnard Castle. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 66 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
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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 38% | 22% | 40% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 0% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 78% | 50% |
| Expected standard in maths | 38% | 22% | 50% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 67% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 102.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 97.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.90 | - | - |
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 Cotherstone 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 | 38% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 22% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 40% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54 |
| 2023/24 | 54 |
| 2024/25 | 60 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cotherstone Primary School compares
Cotherstone Primary School ranked 169th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40% | 7.3% | 18.3% | 66 | — |
| Montalbo Nursery & Primary School | 85% | 4.3% | 14.2% | 240 | 2.9 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle | 81% | 3.2% | 18.2% | 103 | 3.2 miles |
| Green Lane Church of England Primary School | 55% | 6.7% | 29.6% | 188 | 3.4 miles |
| Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School | — | 4.3% | 4.7% | 39 | 3.9 miles |
| Middleton-In-Teesdale Academy | 58% | 4.6% | 23.2% | 73 | 5.2 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)
- 18.33%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 7.33%
- Persistent absence
- 21.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Montalbo Nursery & Primary School2.9 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle3.2 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
Green Lane Church of England Primary School3.4 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School3.9 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
Middleton-In-Teesdale Academy5.2 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
Other schools in Barnard Castle
Cotherstone Primary School ranks 5th of the 5 ranked primary schools in Barnard Castle.
- Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School Primary
- Green Lane Church of England Primary School Primary
- Middleton-In-Teesdale Academy Primary
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle Primary
- Teesdale School and Sixth Form Secondary
- Barnard Castle School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Cotherstone Primary School teach?
- Cotherstone Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Barnard Castle.
- Who is the headteacher of Cotherstone Primary School?
- The headteacher of Cotherstone Primary School is Mrs Julie Gibson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Cotherstone Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cotherstone 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 Cotherstone Primary School?
- Cotherstone Primary School has 66 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Cotherstone Primary School full?
- Cotherstone Primary School has capacity for 84 pupils and 66 on roll (79%), 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 Cotherstone Primary School a faith school?
- No. Cotherstone Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Cotherstone Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Cotherstone Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Cotherstone Primary School?
- Cotherstone Primary School is part of the Bowes Cotherstone Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Cotherstone Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 38% in 2022/23 and 40% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cotherstone Primary School rank locally?
- Cotherstone Primary School ranked 169th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cotherstone Primary School's absence rate?
- Cotherstone Primary School's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cotherstone Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cotherstone 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.