Finchale Primary School
Canterbury Road, Newton Hall, Durham, DH1 5XT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Head Teacher
- Miss Natalie Ward
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 209
- URN
- 130312
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913865187
About this school
Finchale Primary School is a community primary school in Durham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 209 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Finchale 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 May 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 32 | 30 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 81% | 70% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 10% | 19% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 80% | 91% |
| Expected standard in maths | 94% | 83% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 94% | 80% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.00 | - | - |
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 Finchale 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 | 81% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 214 |
| 2023/24 | 215 |
| 2024/25 | 213 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Finchale Primary School compares
Finchale Primary School ranked 25th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 99% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 2.9% | 3.8% | 209 | — |
| Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School | 65% | 3.1% | 15.1% | 214 | 0.6 miles |
| Durham Newton Hall Infants' School | — | 4.7% | 10.2% | 110 | 0.6 miles |
| St Godric's Catholic Primary School, Durham | 73% | 2.4% | 1.5% | 212 | 0.8 miles |
| Framwellgate Moor Primary School | 87% | 4.3% | 20.4% | 375 | 1.0 miles |
| Durham Gilesgate Primary School | 50% | 6.4% | 63.3% | 164 | 1.5 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)
- 3.76%
- English as an additional language
- 9.9%
- Overall absence
- 2.88%
- Persistent absence
- 3.74%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Durham
-
Durham Newton Hall Infants' School0.6 miles
Primary · Durham
-
St Godric's Catholic Primary School, Durham0.8 miles
Primary · Durham
-
Framwellgate Moor Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Durham
-
Durham Gilesgate Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Durham
Other schools in Durham
Finchale Primary School ranks 8th 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 ages does Finchale Primary School teach?
- Finchale Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Durham.
- Who is the head teacher of Finchale Primary School?
- The head teacher of Finchale Primary School is Miss Natalie Ward, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Finchale Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Finchale 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 Finchale Primary School?
- Finchale Primary School has 209 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Finchale Primary School full?
- Finchale Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 209 on roll (100%), 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 Finchale Primary School a faith school?
- No. Finchale Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Finchale Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Finchale Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Finchale Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 81% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Finchale Primary School compare with other schools in County Durham?
- Finchale Primary School ranked 25th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 99% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Finchale Primary School's absence rate?
- Finchale Primary School's overall absence rate is 2.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Finchale Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Finchale 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.