Kirk Merrington Primary School
South View, Kirk Merrington, Spennymoor, DL16 7JB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Murray
- Constituency
- Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 172
- Pupils on roll
- 180
- URN
- 114074
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01388816230
About this school
Kirk Merrington Primary School is a community primary school in Spennymoor. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 180 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 83% | 71% | 83% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 12% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 94% | 94% | 94% |
| Expected standard in maths | 89% | 82% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 89% | 88% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| 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 Kirk Merrington 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 | 83% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 83% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 157 |
| 2023/24 | 165 |
| 2024/25 | 172 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kirk Merrington Primary School compares
Kirk Merrington Primary School ranked 19th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 83% | 3.3% | 11.1% | 180 | — |
| Middlestone Moor Academy | 71% | 5.3% | 40.4% | 265 | 1.4 miles |
| Victoria Lane Academy | 46% | 9.2% | 58.8% | 155 | 1.5 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon | 70% | 5.8% | 52.6% | 100 | 1.5 miles |
| Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School | 52% | 6.6% | 73.5% | 181 | 1.7 miles |
| Rosa Street Primary and Nursery Academy | 70% | 3.7% | 38% | 245 | 1.7 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.05%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 3.27%
- Persistent absence
- 3.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Middlestone Moor Academy1.4 miles
Primary · Durham
-
Victoria Lane Academy1.5 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon1.5 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School1.7 miles
Primary · Ferryhill
-
Rosa Street Primary and Nursery Academy1.7 miles
Primary · Spennymoor
Other schools in Spennymoor
Kirk Merrington Primary School ranks 1st of the 8 ranked primary schools in Spennymoor.
- Byers Green Primary School Primary
- King Street Primary School Primary
- North Park Primary School Primary
- Rosa Street Primary and Nursery Academy Primary
- Springmoor Grange School Primary
- St Charles' Catholic Primary School, Tudhoe Primary
- Tudhoe Colliery Primary School Primary
- Tudhoe Moor Nursery School Nursery
- Whitworth Park Academy Secondary
- The Meadows Academy Academies
- The Oaks Secondary School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Kirk Merrington Primary School teach?
- Kirk Merrington Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Spennymoor.
- Who is the headteacher of Kirk Merrington Primary School?
- The headteacher of Kirk Merrington Primary School is Mrs Nicola Murray, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Kirk Merrington Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kirk Merrington 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 Kirk Merrington Primary School?
- Kirk Merrington Primary School has 180 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Kirk Merrington Primary School full?
- Kirk Merrington Primary School has capacity for 172 pupils and 180 on roll (105%), 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 Kirk Merrington Primary School a faith school?
- No. Kirk Merrington Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Kirk Merrington Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Kirk Merrington Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Kirk Merrington Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 83% in 2022/23 and 83% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kirk Merrington Primary School rank locally?
- Kirk Merrington Primary School ranked 19th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Kirk Merrington Primary School's absence rate?
- Kirk Merrington Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kirk Merrington Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kirk Merrington 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.