St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School
Church Street, Durham, DH1 3DQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Donna Wilson-Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Durham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 137
- URN
- 114228
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913868029
About this school
St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Durham. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 137 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 21 September 2022, 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 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 86% | 80% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 15% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 95% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 90% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 90% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +5.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +5.90 | - | - |
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 St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery 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 | 86% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 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 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 139 |
| 2023/24 | 138 |
| 2024/25 | 134 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School compares
St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School ranked 43rd of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% 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 | 74% | 4.2% | 9.7% | 137 | — |
| St Margaret's Church of England Primary School | 85% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 397 | 0.6 miles |
| Laurel Avenue Community Primary School | 60% | 7.4% | 81% | 114 | 0.9 miles |
| Neville's Cross Primary School and Nursery | 67% | 3.4% | 6.6% | 277 | 1.0 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Gilesgate | 100% | 6.7% | 28.4% | 86 | 1.2 miles |
| St Hild's College Church of England Primary School, Durham | — | 5.4% | 58.5% | 167 | 1.3 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 9.7%
- English as an additional language
- 20.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.19%
- Persistent absence
- 5.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Margaret's Church of England Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Durham
-
Laurel Avenue Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Durham
-
Neville's Cross Primary School and Nursery1.0 miles
Primary · Durham
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Gilesgate1.2 miles
Primary · Durham
-
St Hild's College Church of England Primary School, Durham1.3 miles
Primary · Durham
Other schools in Durham
St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School ranks 12th of the 42 ranked primary schools in Durham.
- All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester Primary
- Bearpark Primary School Primary
- Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School Primary
- Belmont CofE (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School Primary
- Brandon Primary Academy Primary
- Burnhope Primary School Primary
- Cassop Primary School Primary
- Coxhoe Primary School Primary
- Durham Gilesgate Primary School Primary
- Durham Newton Hall Infants' School Primary
- Edmondsley Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School teach?
- St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Durham.
- Who is the headteacher of St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School?
- The headteacher of St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School is Mrs Donna Wilson-Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery 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 St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School?
- St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School has 137 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School full?
- St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School has capacity for 140 pupils and 137 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School a faith school?
- Yes. St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Durham.
- Is St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School a selective school?
- No. St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 86% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School rank locally?
- St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School ranked 43rd of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% 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 St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School's absence rate?
- St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery 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.