Schools in County Durham
281 schools across 29 towns
Based on the most recent published single-word Ofsted grades. Ofsted stopped issuing overall grades (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate) in September 2024, so schools inspected more recently — under Ofsted’s report cards — may not have one. Figures cover the 116 of 281 schools here that have a published grade.
County Durham has 281 schools across 29 towns — 208 primary, 30 secondary, educating around 73,608 pupils. 85% of schools with a published Ofsted grade are rated Good or Outstanding (99 of 116). There are currently 24 open teaching jobs in County Durham. Browse schools by town, compare Ofsted ratings and exam results, and find teaching jobs across County Durham.
County Durhamlocal authority guide — teacher pay, ratios & spending →School spending in County Durham
Gross expenditure per pupil — LA-maintained schools (2024-25).
Source: DfE “LA and school expenditure” (Consistent Financial Reporting), 2024-25, under the Open Government Licence. Covers council-maintained schools; academies report separately.
Top-performing schools in County Durham
Ranked on the latest DfE results. Higher is better.
By Attainment 8 — average GCSE score
- 1St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham57.7Attainment 8
- 2Tanfield School57.5Attainment 8
- 3Durham Johnston Comprehensive School55.2Attainment 8
- 4Belmont Community School53.4Attainment 8
- 5The Academy at Shotton Hall52.2Attainment 8
Source: DfE performance tables, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Towns in County Durham
Select a town to browse its schools and Ofsted ratings
Barnard Castle
Bishop Auckland
BISHOP AUCKLAND
Bowburn
Browney
Chester le Street
Co Durham
Consett
County Durham
Crook
Crook,
Darlington
Durham
Esh Winning
Ferryhill
Houghton le Spring
Low Willington
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newton Aycliffe
Peterlee
Seaham
SEAHAM
Shildon
Shotton Colliery
Spennymoor
Stanley
Stockton-on-Tees
Trimdon Station
Wingate
Outstanding Schools in County Durham
Schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted
Framwellgate Moor Primary School
County Durham, County Durham· DH1 5BG
389 pupils
KS2: 87% met expected standard
Kirk Merrington Primary School
Spennymoor, County Durham· DL16 7JB
172 pupils
KS2: 83% met expected standard
Langley Moor Nursery School
County Durham, County Durham· DH7 8LL
60 pupils
Montalbo Nursery & Primary School
Barnard Castle, County Durham· DL12 8TN
242 pupils
KS2: 85% met expected standard
The Academy at Shotton Hall
Peterlee, County Durham· SR8 1AU
1,164 pupils
Attainment 8: 52.2
Trust: NORTH EAST LEARNING TRUST
Thornhill Primary School
Shildon, County Durham· DL4 1ES
207 pupils
KS2: 93% met expected standard