Thornhill Primary School
General Information
- Address: Thornhill Gardens, Shildon, DL4 1ES – View on map
- Phone: 01388772906
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Miss S Overfield
- Age range: 4-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 32 families put it first for 30 places – 11 for every 10 places. 94% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 12 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 11
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 73
- % eligible for free school meals: 35.6%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 3% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
- 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.
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: 4.6%
- Persistently absent pupils: 12.8%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 21.5%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.0%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 9 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
- Multi-sensory impairment: 4 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Vision impairment: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Outstanding 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 93% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 20% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 31 percentage points above the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 87% against an expected 62%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 87%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 97% · Writing 97% · Maths 100% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 97%
- Average test scores: reading 108, maths 109
- Based on: 30 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: 4th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =2Bullion Lane Primary School94%
- =2New Seaham Academy94%
- #4Thornhill Primary School93%
- #5Ingleton CofE Primary School89%
- =6Cockfield Primary School88%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
6th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #4St Michael's Church of England Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #5Sugar Hill Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #6Thornhill Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #7West Cornforth Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #8Beamish Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,929 (2024-25)
82nd of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #80Crook Primary School£7,980
- #81Victoria Lane Academy£7,959
- #82Thornhill Primary School£7,929
- #83Chester-Le-Street CofE (Controlled) Primary School£7,928
- #84Delves Lane Primary School£7,918
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)