Butterknowle Primary School
Pinfold Lane, Butterknowle, Bishop Auckland, DL13 5PB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Sarah Hodgkinson and Richard Sains (Co Executive Headteachers)
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Federation
- Durham Dales Partnership
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 84
- Pupils on roll
- 54
- URN
- 114102
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01388718369
About this school
Butterknowle Primary School is a community primary school in Bishop Auckland. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 54 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Butterknowle Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 5 | 9 | 7 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 22% | 29% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | - | 44% | 29% |
| Expected standard in maths | - | 22% | 43% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | 44% | 29% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | 99.0 | 97.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | 97.0 | 98.0 |
Trends over time
How Butterknowle 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 | — | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 22% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 29% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50 |
| 2023/24 | 53 |
| 2024/25 | 50 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Butterknowle Primary School compares
Butterknowle Primary School ranked 180th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 29% | 4.4% | 26% | 54 | — |
| Cockfield Primary School | 88% | 5% | 26.1% | 115 | 1.3 miles |
| Woodland Primary School | — | 2.8% | 12% | 25 | 2.3 miles |
| Ramshaw Primary School | 64% | 6.9% | 31.8% | 54 | 2.7 miles |
| Evenwood Church of England Primary School | 86% | 6.7% | 55.9% | 97 | 2.8 miles |
| Hamsterley Primary School | — | 4.5% | 16.1% | 36 | 3.3 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
-
Graded inspection report10 February 2026
- 27 September 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 4.4%
- Persistent absence
- 6.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cockfield Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Woodland Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Ramshaw Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Evenwood Church of England Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Hamsterley Primary School3.3 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
Other schools in Bishop Auckland
Butterknowle Primary School ranks 21st of the 22 ranked primary schools in Bishop Auckland.
- Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law 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
- Prince Bishops Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Butterknowle Primary School teach?
- Butterknowle Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bishop Auckland.
- Who is the headteacher of Butterknowle Primary School?
- The headteacher of Butterknowle Primary School is Sarah Hodgkinson and Richard Sains (Co Executive Headteachers), as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Butterknowle Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Butterknowle 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 many pupils are at Butterknowle Primary School?
- Butterknowle Primary School has 54 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Butterknowle Primary School full?
- Butterknowle Primary School has capacity for 84 pupils and 54 on roll (64%), 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 Butterknowle Primary School a faith school?
- No. Butterknowle Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Butterknowle Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Butterknowle Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Butterknowle Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Butterknowle Primary School is part of the Durham Dales Partnership federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Butterknowle Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 22% in 2023/24 and 29% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Butterknowle Primary School compare with other schools in County Durham?
- Butterknowle Primary School ranked 180th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Butterknowle Primary School's absence rate?
- Butterknowle Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Butterknowle Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Butterknowle 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.