Laurel Avenue Community Primary School
General Information
- Address: Laurel Avenue, The Woodlands, Durham, DH1 2EY – View on map
- Phone: 01913868416
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Ms Gaynor Davison
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 9 families put it first for 9 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 67
- % eligible for free school meals: 71.3%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 19.9% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 25% moved to another school, 75% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across County Durham: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in County Durham, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 7.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 24.4%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 28.9%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.6%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 20 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 6 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 60% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: in line with the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 45% against an expected 46%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 45%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 80% · Writing 70% · Maths 70% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 70%
- Average test scores: reading 108, maths 102
- Based on: 10 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 103rd of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- #102Stanley Burnside Primary School62%
- =103Esh CofE (Aided) Primary School60%
- =103Laurel Avenue Community Primary School60%
- =103Our Lady & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Ushaw Moor60%
- =103St William's Catholic Primary School60%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
54th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #52Lanchester Endowed Parochial Primary SchoolGood
- #53Langley Moor Primary SchoolGood
- #54Laurel Avenue Community Primary SchoolGood
- #55Leadgate Primary School - Split SiteGood
- #56Ludworth Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £11,887 (2024-25)
10th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #8Beamish Primary School£12,295
- #9Ferryhill Station Primary School£12,187
- #10Laurel Avenue Community Primary School£11,887
- #11St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£11,649
- #12Butterknowle Primary School£11,643
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)