St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell
Armstrong Road, Benwell, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE15 6JB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP BEWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Brown
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 224
- URN
- 148812
- Local authority
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01912739063
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 224 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 4 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 77% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 7% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 80% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 83% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 73% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.50 | - | - |
| 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Newcastle upon Tyne average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 62% | 59.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 60.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 62.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 221 |
| 2023/24 | 227 |
| 2024/25 | 214 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell compares
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell ranked 34th of 68 primary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 5.3% | 51.8% | 224 | — |
| Atkinson Road Primary Academy | 72% | 5.3% | 73% | 395 | 0.1 miles |
| Bridgewater Primary School | 64% | 4.4% | 55.1% | 466 | 0.3 miles |
| West Newcastle Academy | 57% | 8.5% | 50.8% | 181 | 0.3 miles |
| Canning Street Primary School | 47% | 8.4% | 69.5% | 453 | 0.4 miles |
| St Johns Primary School | 50% | 3.9% | 71.6% | 226 | 0.5 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)
- 51.76%
- English as an additional language
- 52.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.26%
- Persistent absence
- 13.04%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Atkinson Road Primary Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Bridgewater Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
West Newcastle Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Canning Street Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
St Johns Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Other schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell ranks 49th of the 94 ranked primary schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Amberley Primary School Primary
- Archbishop Runcie CofE First School Primary
- Archibald First School Primary
- Atkinson Road Primary Academy Primary
- Backworth Park Primary School Primary
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill Primary School Primary
- Belsay Primary School Primary
- Benton Dene Primary School Primary
- Benton Park Primary School Primary
- Bridgewater Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell is Mr Paul Brown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell, 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, Benwell?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell has 224 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell has capacity for 236 pupils and 224 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. 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, Benwell a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell as having nursery classes.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell part of an academy trust?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell 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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 68% 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, Benwell compare with other schools in Newcastle upon Tyne?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell ranked 34th of 68 primary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% 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, Benwell's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell'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.