St Bede's Catholic Primary School
Kingsway, Thompson Street East, Darlington, DL1 3ES
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Laura Cuff
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 289
- Pupils on roll
- 322
- URN
- 138523
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325466411
About this school
St Bede's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 322 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Bede's Catholic 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 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
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 45 | 35 | 42 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 44% | 63% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 6% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 91% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 64% | 74% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 71% | 71% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.50 | - | - |
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 Bede's Catholic 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 | Darlington average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 330 |
| 2023/24 | 322 |
| 2024/25 | 320 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bede's Catholic Primary School compares
St Bede's Catholic Primary School ranked 17th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% 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 | 64% | 4.2% | 15.4% | 322 | — |
| Harrowgate Hill Primary School | 48% | 6.4% | 31.1% | 407 | 0.5 miles |
| Springfield Academy | 79% | 5.2% | 42.1% | 236 | 0.6 miles |
| Northwood Primary School | 56% | 7.4% | 45% | 429 | 0.6 miles |
| Whinfield Primary School | 68% | 4.7% | 19.3% | 433 | 0.7 miles |
| Gurney Pease Academy | 73% | 7.3% | 54.7% | 191 | 0.8 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)
- 15.36%
- English as an additional language
- 8.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.19%
- Persistent absence
- 7.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harrowgate Hill Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Springfield Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Northwood Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Whinfield Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Gurney Pease Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
St Bede's Catholic Primary School ranks 19th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Darlington.
- Abbey Infants' School Primary
- Abbey Junior School Primary
- Corporation Road Community Primary School Primary
- Croft Church of England Primary School Primary
- Firthmoor Primary School Primary
- Gainford Church of England Primary School and Preschool Primary
- Gurney Pease Academy Primary
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School Primary
- Heathfield Primary School Primary
- High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Hurworth Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Bede's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of St Bede's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Bede's Catholic Primary School is Laura Cuff, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Bede's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Bede's Catholic 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 St Bede's Catholic Primary School?
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School has 322 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Bede's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 289 pupils and 322 on roll (111%), 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 St Bede's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Bede's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Bede's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Bede's Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St Bede's Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School is part of BISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Bede's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 44% in 2022/23 and 64% 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 Bede's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Darlington?
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School ranked 17th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% 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 Bede's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Bede's Catholic Primary 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 Bede's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Bede's Catholic 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 1 July 2026.