St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley
School Street, Birtley, Chester le Street, DH3 2PN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kate Swaddle
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 120
- Pupils on roll
- 105
- URN
- 148844
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01914102231
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Chester le Street. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 105 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley, 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 19 | 17 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 84% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 21% | 18% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 89% | 94% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 89% | 94% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 60% | 89% | 94% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.00 | - | - |
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 Junior School, Birtley has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Gateshead average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 61.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 84% | 61.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 63.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 97 |
| 2023/24 | 93 |
| 2024/25 | 97 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley compares
St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley ranked 17th of 62 primary schools in Gateshead for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 3.6% | 30.9% | 105 | — |
| St Joseph's Catholic Infant School, Birtley | — | 3.7% | 27.3% | 68 | 0.4 miles |
| Ravensworth Terrace Primary School | 60% | 4.6% | 22.8% | 362 | 0.4 miles |
| Portobello Primary School | 71% | 4.3% | 18.1% | 182 | 0.5 miles |
| Barley Mow Primary School | 57% | 7.4% | 45.1% | 155 | 0.7 miles |
| Birtley East Community Primary School | 59% | 5.9% | 42% | 189 | 0.9 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)
- 30.93%
- English as an additional language
- 22.7%
- Overall absence
- 3.61%
- Persistent absence
- 7.92%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Joseph's Catholic Infant School, Birtley0.4 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Ravensworth Terrace Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Portobello Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Barley Mow Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
-
Birtley East Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Birtley
Other schools in Chester le Street
St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley ranks 6th 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 Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Chester le Street.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley is Mrs Kate Swaddle, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley, 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 Junior School, Birtley?
- St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley has 105 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley has capacity for 120 pupils and 105 on roll (88%), 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 Junior School, Birtley a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley part of an academy trust?
- St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley 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 Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 76% 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 Junior School, Birtley compare with other schools in Gateshead?
- St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley ranked 17th of 62 primary schools in Gateshead for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% 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 Junior School, Birtley's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley'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.