Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery
Lomond Walk, West Auckland, Bishop Auckland, DL14 9UD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sian Atkinson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 119
- Pupils on roll
- 161
- URN
- 114069
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01388833186
About this school
Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery is a community primary school in Bishop Auckland. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 161 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 November 2023, 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 | 12 | 30 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 33% | 43% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 10% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 50% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 67% | 63% | 61% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 50% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.20 | - | - |
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 Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery 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 | 33% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 43% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 164 |
| 2023/24 | 175 |
| 2024/25 | 154 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery compares
Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery ranked 124th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 6.7% | 44.3% | 161 | — |
| Copeland Road Primary School | — | 6.4% | 36% | 130 | 0.2 miles |
| St Helen Auckland Community Primary School | 43% | 8.5% | 51.2% | 203 | 0.6 miles |
| Woodhouse Primary Academy | — | 10.6% | 74.3% | 176 | 1.6 miles |
| Toft Hill Primary School | 74% | 4% | 16.2% | 203 | 1.7 miles |
| Ramshaw Primary School | 64% | 6.9% | 31.8% | 54 | 1.8 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)
- 44.26%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.7%
- Persistent absence
- 22.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Copeland Road Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
St Helen Auckland Community Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Woodhouse Primary Academy1.6 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Toft Hill Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Ramshaw Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
Other schools in Bishop Auckland
Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery ranks 13th 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
- Prince Bishops Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery teach?
- Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Bishop Auckland.
- Who is the headteacher of Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery?
- The headteacher of Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery is Mrs Sian Atkinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery, 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 Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery?
- Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery has 161 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery full?
- Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery has capacity for 119 pupils and 161 on roll (135%), 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 Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery a faith school?
- No. Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery has no designated religious character.
- Does Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery as having nursery classes.
- How have Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 33% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery rank locally?
- Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery ranked 124th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery's absence rate?
- Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery'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.