St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle
Primary · Academy converter · Ages 3–11 · 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 🔒
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle is a primary school in Barnard Castle, County Durham for ages 3–11 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Standards maintained, from the inspection on 12 November 2024. County Durham has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2026 entry.
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle 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 drew 11 first-choice applications for 14 offers, 0.8 first choices per offer and the 2nd lowest of 195 County Durham primary schools.
- Every first-choice family was offered a 2026 Reception place, and 3 offers went to families who ranked the school second or lower.
- In 2024/25, 81% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (England 62%), and 31% reached the higher standard (England 8%).
- There are 25.5 pupils per teacher, against a middle figure of 17.4 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
- Birch Road, Barnard Castle, DL12 8JR
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 3–11
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Council
- County Durham
- Pupils on roll
- 103 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 22.3% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 25.5
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Standards maintained Inspected 12 November 2024
Strengths
- “St Mary’s is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils thrive.”
- “They enjoy positive relationships with staff and peers alike.”
- “There is a respectful warmth that spreads through the school.”
To improve
- “Some pupils’ letter formation is not as developed as that of their peers.”
- “On occasion, the school exposes pupils to complex writing tasks before they are ready.”
- “In addition, there are inconsistencies in how well errors in pupils’ work are addressed.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 9 December 2024 (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) | 81% | 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: 11 first-preference applications, 14 offers in total, 11 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.
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary School 0.4 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- Green Lane Church of England Primary School 0.5 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Cotherstone Primary School 3.2 mi Good Last distance published
- Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School 4.1 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary School 5.6 mi Good Last distance published
- Woodland Primary School 6.4 mi Good Last distance published
- Cockfield Primary School 6.5 mi Good Last distance published
- Butterknowle Primary School 6.8 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published