West Rainton Primary School
Primary · Community school · Ages 2–11 · Houghton le Spring, County Durham
Last distance offered · Reception 2026
Every applicant was offered a place
From Durham County Council · offers on 16 April 2026
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
West Rainton Primary School is a primary school in Houghton le Spring, County Durham for ages 2–11 (community school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 8 February 2023. County Durham has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2026 entry.
West Rainton Primary School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2026 | Every applicant was offered a place |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- 2026 Reception entry had 15 first-choice applications for 16 offers, and every first-choice family was offered a place.
- Reading, writing and maths: 76% met the expected standard in 2024/25 (England 62%), while 0% reached the higher standard (England 8%).
- 5 of the 22 Reception 2026 applications (23%) came from families living outside County Durham, and 1 offer went to them.
- 52% of pupils are eligible for free school meals; the middle figure across the 8 nearest primary schools in County Durham is 18.7%.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other County Durham schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- West Rainton, Houghton le Spring, DH4 6RN
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 2–11
- Council
- County Durham
- Pupils on roll
- 148 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 52% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.1
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 8 February 2023
Strengths
- “Pupils feel at home at West Rainton Primary School.”
- “It is a small school with a strong culture of inclusivity.”
- “Pupils work well together in lessons.”
To improve
- “However, sometimes they find it hard to explain some of the concepts that leaders want them to know in some subjects.”
- “This is because not all teachers pinpoint the most important knowledge to revisit over time.”
- “While assessment is used well to check pupils’ understanding in lessons, some of the checks that teachers do at the end of a unit of work are not as useful as they could be.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 23 March 2023 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| Key stage 2 · reading, writing and maths, expected standard (2024/25) | 76% | 62% |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 15 first-preference applications, 16 offers in total, 15 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in County Durham.
- Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School 1.6 mi Good Last distance published
- Pittington Primary School 1.7 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Belmont CofE (Controlled) Primary School 2.0 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- St Thomas More Primary School, Belmont 2.0 mi Good Last distance published
- Lumley Junior School 2.1 mi School remains Good
- Finchale Primary School 2.2 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Lumley Infant and Nursery School 2.4 mi Good Last distance published
- Sherburn Primary School 2.4 mi Standards maintained Last distance published