St Bede's Catholic Primary School
Ridge Terrace, Bedlington, NE22 6EQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP BEWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Acting Headteacher
- Mrs Laura Fallon
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Blyth and Ashington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 205
- URN
- 148283
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01670822389
About this school
St Bede's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Bedlington. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 205 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
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 | 28 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 46% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 53% | 64% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 33% | 64% | 76% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 50% | 75% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 97.0 | 101.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.30 | - | - |
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 | Northumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30% | 54.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 46% | 52.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 56% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 228 |
| 2023/24 | 213 |
| 2024/25 | 199 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bede's Catholic Primary School compares
St Bede's Catholic Primary School ranked 34th of 72 primary schools in Northumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 4.4% | 16.1% | 205 | — |
| Bedlington West End Primary School | 57% | 5.3% | 26.4% | 214 | 0.1 miles |
| Meadowdale Academy | 83% | 3.7% | 21.4% | 202 | 0.3 miles |
| Bedlington Whitley Memorial Church of England Primary School | 31% | 7.1% | 42.7% | 233 | 0.6 miles |
| Stead Lane Primary School | 46% | 5.9% | 52.2% | 230 | 1.2 miles |
| Choppington Primary School | 62% | 5.6% | 79.1% | 109 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report17 March 2026
- 7 November 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.11%
- English as an additional language
- 4%
- Overall absence
- 4.38%
- Persistent absence
- 8.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bedlington West End Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Bedlington
-
Meadowdale Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Bedlington
-
Bedlington Whitley Memorial Church of England Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bedlington
-
Stead Lane Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Bedlington
-
Choppington Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Choppington
Other schools in Bedlington
St Bede's Catholic Primary School ranks 2nd of the 6 ranked primary schools in Bedlington.
- Bedlington Station Primary School Primary
- Bedlington West End Primary School Primary
- Bedlington Whitley Memorial Church of England Primary School Primary
- Meadowdale Academy Primary
- Stead Lane Primary School Primary
- Bedlington Academy Secondary
- St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy Secondary
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 Bedlington.
- Who is the acting headteacher of St Bede's Catholic Primary School?
- The acting headteacher of St Bede's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Laura Fallon, 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 205 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 240 pupils and 205 on roll (85%), 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 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 BEWICK 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 30% in 2022/23 and 66% 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 Northumberland?
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School ranked 34th of 72 primary schools in Northumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% 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 4.4% 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 10 July 2026.