Whitley Chapel Church of England First School
Leazes Lane, Whitley Chapel, Hexham, NE47 0HB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Angela Hayward
- Diocese
- Diocese of Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Hexham
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 50
- Pupils on roll
- 28
- URN
- 122293
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01434673294
About this school
Whitley Chapel Church of England First School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Hexham. It teaches children aged 3 to 9 and has 28 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Whitley Chapel Church of England First School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Whitley Chapel Church of England First 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43 |
| 2023/24 | 33 |
| 2024/25 | 31 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Whitley Chapel Church of England First School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 5.4% | 11.5% | 28 | — |
| Slaley First School | — | 4% | 16.7% | 40 | 3.0 miles |
| Hexham First School | — | 5.1% | 35.2% | 68 | 3.7 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic First School, Hexham | — | 3.7% | 18.5% | 81 | 3.8 miles |
| The Sele First School | — | 5% | 13.5% | 390 | 4.0 miles |
| Acomb First School | — | 4.3% | 18.5% | 58 | 5.5 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)
- 11.54%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 5.38%
- Persistent absence
- 15.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Slaley First School3.0 miles
Primary
-
Hexham First School3.7 miles
Primary · Hexham
-
St Mary's Catholic First School, Hexham3.8 miles
Primary · Hexham
-
The Sele First School4.0 miles
Primary · Hexham
-
Acomb First School5.5 miles
Primary · Hexham
Other schools in Hexham
- Acomb First School Primary
- Beaufront First School Primary
- Bellingham Primary School Primary
- Chollerton Church of England Aided First School Primary
- Greenhaugh Primary School Primary
- Henshaw Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hexham First School Primary
- Humshaugh Church of England First School Primary
- Kielder Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Newbrough Church of England Primary School Primary
- Shaftoe Trust Academy Primary
- St Mary's Catholic First School, Hexham Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Whitley Chapel Church of England First School teach?
- Whitley Chapel Church of England First School teaches children aged 3 to 9. It is a primary school in Hexham.
- Who is the headteacher of Whitley Chapel Church of England First School?
- The headteacher of Whitley Chapel Church of England First School is Mrs Angela Hayward, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Whitley Chapel Church of England First School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Whitley Chapel Church of England First 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 Whitley Chapel Church of England First School?
- Whitley Chapel Church of England First School has 28 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 9.
- Is Whitley Chapel Church of England First School full?
- Whitley Chapel Church of England First School has capacity for 50 pupils and 28 on roll (56%), 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 Whitley Chapel Church of England First School a faith school?
- Yes. Whitley Chapel Church of England First School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Newcastle.
- Does Whitley Chapel Church of England First School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Whitley Chapel Church of England First School as having nursery classes.
- What is Whitley Chapel Church of England First School's absence rate?
- Whitley Chapel Church of England First School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Whitley Chapel Church of England First School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Whitley Chapel Church of England First School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.