School performance data for the 2022/23 school year has been released by the government – but which are the best and worst performing primary schools in Darlington and County Durham?

The Department for Education has revealed a data table showing the overall performance at the end of key stage 2 in 2023.

The schools have been ranked on multiple factors including reading, writing and maths progress scores, percentage of pupils achieving higher standards and average scores in reading and writing to name a few.

Below, the best and worst primary schools in Darlington and County Durham have been listed in order of percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard, according to the Department for Education data.

The Northern Echo: Is your child's primary school in the top performing list?Is your child's primary school in the top performing list? (Image: Newsquest)

Darlington’s 10 best-performing primary schools

  • St John's Church of England Academy – 80%
  • St Teresa's Catholic Primary School - 78%
  • Abbey Junior School - 74%
  • High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School – 73%
  • Holy Family Catholic Primary School - 72%
  • Heighington Church of England Primary School – 70%
  • Mount Pleasant Primary School – 69%
  • Mowden Junior School – 68%
  • West Park Academy - 68%
  • Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary School - 67%

You can see the ranking of all 36 primary schools in Darlington here.

Some of Darlington’s worst performing primary schools

  • Gurney Pease Academy - 56%
  • Springfield Academy - 53%
  • Reid Street Primary School – 52%
  • Heathfield Primary School – 50%
  • Skerne Park Academy – 44%
  • St Bede's Catholic Primary School – 44%
  • Red Hall Primary School – 39%
  • The Rydal Academy – 38%
  • St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School – 35%
  • Harrowgate Hill Primary School – 26%

The Northern Echo: How well has your child's primary school performed for reading and writing?How well has your child's primary school performed for reading and writing? (Image: Ben Birchall/PA)

County Durham’s 10 best-performing primary schools

  • Evenwood Church of England Primary School – 93%
  • St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Barnard Castle - 92%
  • Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary School - 92%
  • Montalbo Nursery & Primary School - 90%
  • Stanley (Crook) Primary School – 90%
  • Cestria Primary School – 88%
  • St Michael's Church of England Primary School – 87%
  • Bullion Lane Primary School – 86%
  • St Godrics Catholic Primary School, Thornley - 86%
  • St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School - 86%

Some of County Durham’s worst performing primary schools

  • The Grove Primary School – 33%
  • Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery – 33%
  • St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Coundon – 33%
  • Acre Rigg Academy – 32%
  • St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor – 32%
  • Willington Primary School – 28%
  • North Park Primary School – 23%
  • Copeland Road Primary School – 20%
  • Middleton-in-Teesdale Nursery and Primary School – 18%
  • Seascape Primary School – 0%

You can see the ranking of all 287 primary schools in County Durham here.

The Department for Education said: “School performance data for the 2022/23 academic year should be used with caution given the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected individual schools and pupils differently.

“School performance data should be considered alongside a range of other information about the school, which could include looking at school websites, reading Ofsted reports, and speaking to the school directly.

“Conclusions should not be drawn on a single piece of data alone.”

Please note, Special Schools have not been included in this article.