Schools in County Durham
270 schools in the County Durham local authority.
Schools
270
Open schools
Pupils
72,055
2025–26 census
Good or better
93%
214 of 231 graded
Academic Performance
5.0
out of 10 · 258 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 17 7%
- Good
- 197 85%
- Requires improvement
- 16 7%
- Inadequate
- 1 <1%
18 inspected since 2024, no overall grade21 superseded by a report card21 not judged1 in a category of concern
5.0
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 258 of 270 schools that can be scored
Pupils
72,055
pupils on roll
Boys 52%48% Girls
Ethnicity
White
93%Asian
2%Black
2%Mixed
2%Chinese
<1%Any other group
<1%Unclassified
<1%Ethnicity from 259 of 270 schools (70,465 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 33.6%
- First language not English
- 4.8%
- Young carers
- <1%
23,644 of 70,465 pupils · 259 of 270 schools
3,395 of 70,465 pupils · 259 of 270 schools
357 of 69,665 pupils · 249 of 270 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 208
- Secondary
- 31
- All-through
- 3
- Special
- 12
- Nursery
- 10
- PRU
- 2
- Not recorded
- 4
Top primary schools in County Durham
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Montalbo Nursery & Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary10.0/10Outstanding
- 2.Framwellgate Moor Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 3.Thornhill Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 4.Kirk Merrington Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 5.Sedgefield Hardwick Primary AcademyCounty Durham · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 6.St Michael's Church of England Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 7.Shincliffe CofE (Controlled) Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary9.0/10Good
- 8.Tudhoe Colliery Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary9.0/10
- 9.Cestria Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.9/10Good
- 10.St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, SeahamCounty Durham · Primary8.9/10Good
- 11.Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.9/10Good
- 12.Greenland Community Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.8/10Good
- 13.St Margaret's Church of England Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.8/10Good
- 14.Bishop Ian Ramsey CofE Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.7/10Good
- 15.St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.7/10Good
- 16.St William's Catholic Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.7/10Good
- 17.New Seaham AcademyCounty Durham · Primary8.6/10Good
- 18.Browney Primary AcademyCounty Durham · Primary8.5/10Good
- 19.Evenwood Church of England Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.5/10Good
- 20.Pittington Primary SchoolCounty Durham · Primary8.5/10Good
Top secondary schools in County Durham
The 20 highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Sedgefield Community CollegeCounty Durham · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 2.Teesdale School and Sixth FormCounty Durham · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 3.The Academy at Shotton HallCounty Durham · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 4.Tanfield SchoolCounty Durham · Secondary8.8/10
- 5.Durham Johnston Comprehensive SchoolCounty Durham · Secondary8.6/10
- 6.St Leonard's Catholic School, DurhamCounty Durham · Secondary8.6/10
- 7.Belmont Community SchoolCounty Durham · Secondary8.3/10Good
- 8.Easington AcademyCounty Durham · Secondary8.1/10
- 9.Whitworth Park AcademyCounty Durham · Secondary7.2/10Good
- 10.Parkside AcademyCounty Durham · Secondary6.8/10Good
- 11.Woodham AcademyCounty Durham · Secondary6.8/10Good
- 12.Hermitage AcademyCounty Durham · Secondary6.7/10Good
- 13.Wellfield SchoolCounty Durham · Secondary6.6/10Good
- 14.Framwellgate School DurhamCounty Durham · Secondary5.9/10
- 15.Park View SchoolCounty Durham · Secondary5.8/10
- 16.St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form CollegeCounty Durham · Secondary5.6/10Good
- 17.Seaham High SchoolCounty Durham · Secondary4.0/10Good
- 18.St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form CollegeCounty Durham · Secondary4.0/10Good
- 19.Consett AcademyCounty Durham · Secondary3.9/10Good
- 20.Staindrop AcademyCounty Durham · Secondary3.7/10Good
Browse all 270 schools in County Durham — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in County Durham
- How many schools are there in County Durham?
- County Durham has 270 open schools — 208 primary, 31 secondary, 12 special, 10 nursery, teaching 72,055 pupils in total.
- How many schools in County Durham are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 214 of the 231 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 93% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 17 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 270: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in County Durham?
- 5.0 out of 10, averaged across the 258 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some County Durham schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 39 schools in County Durham currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does County Durham local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. County Durham covers 270 schools and sits in the North East region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in County Durham are eligible for free school meals?
- 33.6% — 23,644 of 70,465 pupils at the 259 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the North East region.