St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon
Victoria Lane, Coundon, Bishop Auckland, DL14 8NN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Alice Gibson-Crone
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 120
- Pupils on roll
- 100
- URN
- 148629
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01388602608
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Bishop Auckland. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 100 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon, 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 18 | 10 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 33% | 60% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 39% | 90% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 39% | 80% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 44% | 60% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 99.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.30 | - | - |
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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon 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 | 33% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 120 |
| 2023/24 | 126 |
| 2024/25 | 112 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon ranked 63rd of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 5.8% | 52.6% | 100 | — |
| Victoria Lane Academy | 46% | 9.2% | 58.8% | 155 | 0.0 miles |
| Prince Bishops Community Primary School | — | — | — | 210 | 1.3 miles |
| Kirk Merrington Primary School | 83% | 3.3% | 11.1% | 180 | 1.5 miles |
| St Andrew's Academy | 46% | 4.3% | 42.7% | 191 | 1.9 miles |
| Cockton Hill Junior School | 54% | 5.5% | 56.7% | 187 | 2.0 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)
- 52.58%
- English as an additional language
- 7.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.83%
- Persistent absence
- 15.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Victoria Lane Academy0.0 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Prince Bishops Community Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Kirk Merrington Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Spennymoor
-
St Andrew's Academy1.9 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
-
Cockton Hill Junior School2.0 miles
Primary · Bishop Auckland
Other schools in Bishop Auckland
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon ranks 7th of the 22 ranked primary schools in Bishop Auckland.
- Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law Primary
- Butterknowle Primary School Primary
- Cockfield Primary School Primary
- Cockton Hill Infant School Primary
- Cockton Hill Junior School Primary
- Copeland Road Primary School Primary
- Escomb Primary School Primary
- Etherley Lane Primary School Primary
- Evenwood Church of England Primary School Primary
- Frosterley Primary School Primary
- Hamsterley Primary School Primary
- Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Bishop Auckland.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon is Ms Alice Gibson-Crone, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon, 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon has 100 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon has capacity for 120 pupils and 100 on roll (83%), 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon as having nursery classes.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon part of an academy trust?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 33% in 2022/23 and 70% 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon compare with other schools in County Durham?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon ranked 63rd of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon'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.