Our Lady and St Thomas Catholic Primary School, Willington
General Information
- Address: Cumberland Terrace, Willington, Crook, DL15 0PB – View on map
- Phone: 01388746336
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Ruth Veitch
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 12 families put it first for 13 places – 9 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 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Roman Catholic
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 30
- % eligible for free school meals: 25.6%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 12% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 18.4% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% 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: 4.1%
- Persistently absent pupils: 7.7%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 24.6%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.6%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Moderate learning difficulty: 9 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 3 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 50% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 6% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 12 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 59% against an expected 66%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 59%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 83% · Writing 56% · Maths 83% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 89%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 103
- Based on: 18 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 147th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =147Durham Gilesgate Primary School50%
- =147Langley Park Primary School50%
- =147Our Lady and St Thomas Catholic Primary School, Willington50%
- =147West Pelton Primary School50%
- #153Pelton Community Primary School48%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
64th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #62Oakley Cross Primary School and NurseryGood
- #63Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary SchoolGood
- #64Our Lady and St Thomas Catholic Primary School, WillingtonGood
- #65Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, ShottonGood
- #66Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,683 (2024-25)
97th of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #95Ropery Walk Primary School£7,688
- #96Kelloe Primary School£7,684
- #97Our Lady and St Thomas Catholic Primary School, Willington£7,683
- #98Howden-le-Wear Primary School£7,652
- #99St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Dipton£7,645
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)