Wolsingham Primary School
Upper Town, Wolsingham, Bishop Auckland, DL13 3ET
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Kitching
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 231
- Pupils on roll
- 163
- URN
- 114068
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01388527457
About this school
Wolsingham Primary School is a community primary school in Bishop Auckland. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 163 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 13 October 2021, 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 | 19 | 28 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 74% | 64% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 18% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 89% | 86% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 75% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 82% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.10 | - | - |
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 Wolsingham 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 | 74% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 181 |
| 2023/24 | 179 |
| 2024/25 | 163 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wolsingham Primary School compares
Wolsingham Primary School ranked 34th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 4.1% | 21.1% | 163 | — |
| Tow Law Millennium Primary School | 54% | 7.2% | 50.6% | 77 | 2.6 miles |
| Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law | 11% | 5.4% | 35.4% | 83 | 2.9 miles |
| Frosterley Primary School | 71% | 7.6% | 35.9% | 32 | 3.6 miles |
| Hamsterley Primary School | — | 4.5% | 16.1% | 36 | 4.6 miles |
| Peases West Academy | 58% | 6.3% | 64% | 126 | 5.0 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)
- 21.09%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.1%
- Persistent absence
- 4.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Tow Law Millennium Primary School2.6 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law2.9 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Frosterley Primary School3.6 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Hamsterley Primary School4.6 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Peases West Academy5.0 miles
Primary · Crook
Other schools in Bishop Auckland
Wolsingham Primary School ranks 3rd of the 22 ranked primary schools in Bishop Auckland.
- Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law Primary
- Butterknowle Primary School Primary
- Cockfield Primary School Primary
- Cockton Hill Infant School Primary
- Cockton Hill Junior School Primary
- Copeland Road Primary School Primary
- Escomb Primary School Primary
- Etherley Lane Primary School Primary
- Evenwood Church of England Primary School Primary
- Frosterley Primary School Primary
- Hamsterley Primary School Primary
- Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Wolsingham Primary School teach?
- Wolsingham Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bishop Auckland.
- Who is the headteacher of Wolsingham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Wolsingham Primary School is Mrs Sarah Kitching, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Wolsingham Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wolsingham 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 Wolsingham Primary School?
- Wolsingham Primary School has 163 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Wolsingham Primary School full?
- Wolsingham Primary School has capacity for 231 pupils and 163 on roll (71%), 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 Wolsingham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Wolsingham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Wolsingham Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Wolsingham Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Wolsingham Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 74% in 2022/23 and 76% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wolsingham Primary School rank locally?
- Wolsingham Primary School ranked 34th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wolsingham Primary School's absence rate?
- Wolsingham Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wolsingham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wolsingham 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 30 June 2026.