NCEA William Leech CofE Primary School
General Information
- Address: Church Square, MORPETH, NE61 5TR – View on map
- Phone: 01670860267
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Heidi Barnes
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 8 families put it first for 8 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: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 61
- % eligible for free school meals: 58.7%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Northumberland average)
- English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 24.6% a year (Northumberland 14.4%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 52% moved to another school, 48% 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 Northumberland: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 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 Northumberland, 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: 6.7%
- Persistently absent pupils: 18.2%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 31.2%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 22 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 13 pupils
- Hearing impairment: 2 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Physical disability: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 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: 29% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 32 percentage points below the Northumberland average (61%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 44% against an expected 47%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 44%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 50% · Writing 43% · Maths 43% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 36%
- Average test scores: reading 99, maths 98
- Based on: 14 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: 57th of 58 junior and primary schools in the area
- #55Stakeford Primary School32%
- #56Bedlington Whitley Memorial Church of England Primary School31%
- #57NCEA William Leech CofE Primary School29%
- #58NCEA Grace Darling CofE Primary School24%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
62nd of 107 primary schools in Northumberland for Ofsted rating
- #60NCEA Thomas Bewick C of E Primary SchoolGood
- #61NCEA Warkworth Church of England Primary SchoolGood
- #62NCEA William Leech CofE Primary SchoolGood
- #63Ncea Harry Hotspur Church of England Primary SchoolGood
- #64New Delaval Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £8,601 (2024-25)
38th of 124 primary schools in Northumberland for spending per pupil
- #36Rothbury First School£8,792
- #37Wark Church of England Primary School£8,706
- #38NCEA William Leech CofE Primary School£8,601
- #39Belsay Primary School£8,570
- #40Ncea Harry Hotspur Church of England Primary School£8,492
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)