Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School
Primary · Voluntary aided school · Ages 2–11 · Barnard Castle, 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 🔒
Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School is a primary school in Barnard Castle, County Durham for ages 2–11 (voluntary aided school). County Durham has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2026 entry.
Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) 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
- With 39 pupils on roll in January 2026, the school had 8.3 pupils per teacher; the middle figure across the 8 nearest primary schools in County Durham is 20.2.
- Reception 2026 drew 5 first-choice applications for 5 offers, and every applicant was offered a place.
- The latest Ofsted inspection, on 25 March 2026, gave no single grade; the previous graded outcome, on 20 September 2023, was Requires improvement.
- 7.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared with a middle figure of 19.7% across the 8 nearest primary schools in County Durham.
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
- Bowes, Bowes Hutchinsons Ce Va Primary School, Barnard Castle, DL12 9LG
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 2–11
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Council
- County Durham
- Pupils on roll
- 39 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 7.7% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 8.3
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
No Ofsted grade Inspected 25 March 2026
Strengths
- “The school is a warm, welcoming community.”
- “Pupils quickly become part of a family when they join the school.”
- “Pupils know each other well and look out for one another.”
To improve
- “In the wider curriculum, this is not as consistent.”
- “However, in some books, pupils make errors in their work that are not always identified and addressed.”
- “This limits the quality of pupils’ work and the progress that they make.”
Safeguarding: met
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 19 May 2026 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 5 first-preference applications, 5 offers in total, 5 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.
- Cotherstone Primary School 3.9 mi Good Last distance published
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle 4.1 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School 4.3 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- Green Lane Church of England Primary School 4.6 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Middleton-In-Teesdale Academy 7.7 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Woodland Primary School 9.5 mi Good Last distance published
- Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary School 9.7 mi Good Last distance published
- Butterknowle Primary School 10.4 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published