St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston
St Benet's Way, Ouston, Chester le Street, DH2 1QX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Catherine Young
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- North Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 217
- URN
- 148205
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01914105857
About this school
St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Chester le Street. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 217 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston, 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- 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 | 30 | 31 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 48% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 10% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 81% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 52% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 61% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 100.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.10 | - | - |
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 Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston 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 | 73% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 48% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 247 |
| 2023/24 | 223 |
| 2024/25 | 216 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston compares
St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston ranked 110th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 3.4% | 7.7% | 217 | — |
| Ouston Primary School | 54% | 4.5% | 16.4% | 259 | 0.2 miles |
| Pelton Community Primary School | 48% | 7.1% | 50.2% | 290 | 0.5 miles |
| Barley Mow Primary School | 57% | 7.4% | 45.1% | 155 | 1.2 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley | 76% | 3.6% | 30.9% | 105 | 1.3 miles |
| Portobello Primary School | 71% | 4.3% | 18.1% | 182 | 1.4 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)
- 7.69%
- English as an additional language
- 2.3%
- Overall absence
- 3.42%
- Persistent absence
- 3.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ouston Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Pelton Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Barley Mow Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley1.3 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Portobello Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
Other schools in Chester le Street
St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston ranks 13th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Chester le Street.
- Barley Mow Primary School Primary
- Bullion Lane Primary School Primary
- Cestria Primary School Primary
- Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Lumley Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Lumley Junior School Primary
- Nettlesworth Primary School Primary
- Newker Primary School Primary
- Ouston Primary School Primary
- Pelton Community Primary School Primary
- Portobello Primary School Primary
- Ravensworth Terrace Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston teach?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Chester le Street.
- Who is the headteacher of St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston?
- The headteacher of St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston is Mrs Catherine Young, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston, 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 Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston has 217 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston full?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston has capacity for 210 pupils and 217 on roll (103%), 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 Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston a faith school?
- Yes. St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston as having nursery classes.
- Is St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston part of an academy trust?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston 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 St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% in 2022/23 and 59% 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 Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston compare with other schools in County Durham?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston ranked 110th of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% 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 Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston's absence rate?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston's overall absence rate is 3.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Benet's Catholic Primary School, Ouston'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.