Montalbo Nursery & Primary School
Fairfield Road, Barnard Castle, DL12 8TN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Christopher Minikin
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 240
- URN
- 114115
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01833637718
About this school
Montalbo Nursery & Primary School is a community primary school in Barnard Castle. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 240 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
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 | 20 | 22 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 90% | 100% | 85% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 35% | 32% | 30% |
| Expected standard in reading | 95% | 100% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 100% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 100% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 111.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 111.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.90 | - | - |
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 Montalbo Nursery & 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 | 90% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 100% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 85% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 200 |
| 2023/24 | 237 |
| 2024/25 | 242 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Montalbo Nursery & Primary School compares
Montalbo Nursery & Primary School ranked 11th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 94% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 85% | 4.3% | 14.2% | 240 | — |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle | 81% | 3.2% | 18.2% | 103 | 0.4 miles |
| Green Lane Church of England Primary School | 55% | 6.7% | 29.6% | 188 | 0.5 miles |
| Cotherstone Primary School | 40% | 7.3% | 18.3% | 66 | 2.9 miles |
| Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School | — | 4.3% | 4.7% | 39 | 4.3 miles |
| Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary School | 84% | 4.1% | 15.5% | 179 | 5.4 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)
- 14.15%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.27%
- Persistent absence
- 9.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle0.4 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
Green Lane Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
Cotherstone Primary School2.9 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School4.3 miles
Primary · Barnard Castle
-
Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary School5.4 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Barnard Castle
Montalbo Nursery & Primary School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked primary schools in Barnard Castle.
- Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School Primary
- Cotherstone Primary School Primary
- Green Lane Church of England Primary School Primary
- Middleton-In-Teesdale Academy 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 Montalbo Nursery & Primary School teach?
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Barnard Castle.
- Who is the headteacher of Montalbo Nursery & Primary School?
- The headteacher of Montalbo Nursery & Primary School is Mr Christopher Minikin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Montalbo Nursery & Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Montalbo Nursery & 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 Montalbo Nursery & Primary School?
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School has 240 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Montalbo Nursery & Primary School full?
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 240 on roll (114%), 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 Montalbo Nursery & Primary School a faith school?
- No. Montalbo Nursery & Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Montalbo Nursery & Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Montalbo Nursery & Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Montalbo Nursery & Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 90% in 2022/23 and 85% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Montalbo Nursery & Primary School rank locally?
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School ranked 11th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 94% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Montalbo Nursery & Primary School's absence rate?
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Montalbo Nursery & Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Montalbo Nursery & 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.