Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw
Station Road, Penshaw, Houghton le Spring, DH4 7JZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Garbutt
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 353
- Pupils on roll
- 291
- URN
- 147139
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913854545
About this school
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Houghton le Spring. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 291 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. 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
- 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 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 69% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 10% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 88% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 73% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 81% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.50 | - | - |
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 Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sunderland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 342 |
| 2023/24 | 319 |
| 2024/25 | 308 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw compares
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw ranked 40th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 3.8% | 12.7% | 291 | — |
| Barnwell Academy | 63% | 3.7% | 21.5% | 302 | 0.2 miles |
| New Penshaw Academy | 58% | 7.6% | 48.7% | 112 | 0.4 miles |
| Shiney Row Primary School | 71% | 6.8% | 48.8% | 249 | 0.4 miles |
| Fatfield Academy | 74% | 5% | 20% | 233 | 1.2 miles |
| Bournmoor Primary School | 65% | 6.2% | 40.3% | 66 | 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)
- 12.73%
- English as an additional language
- 2.3%
- Overall absence
- 3.76%
- Persistent absence
- 6.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Barnwell Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
New Penshaw Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Shiney Row Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Fatfield Academy1.2 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Bournmoor Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
Other schools in Houghton le Spring
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw ranks 7th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Houghton le Spring.
- Barnwell Academy Primary
- Bernard Gilpin Primary School Primary
- Bournmoor Primary School Primary
- Burnside Academy Inspires Primary
- Dubmire Primary Primary
- Easington Lane Primary School Primary
- East Rainton Primary School Primary
- Eppleton Academy Primary School Primary
- Gillas Lane Primary Academy Primary
- Hetton Lyons Primary School Primary
- Hetton Primary School Primary
- New Penshaw Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw teach?
- Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Houghton le Spring.
- Who is the headteacher of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw?
- The headteacher of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw is Mrs Claire Garbutt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw, 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 Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw?
- Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw has 291 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw full?
- Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw has capacity for 353 pupils and 291 on roll (82%), 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 Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw a faith school?
- Yes. Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw?
- Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw is part of BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw rank locally?
- Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw ranked 40th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw's absence rate?
- Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw'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 10 July 2026.