Archibald First School

Archibald First School is a warm, caring and highly inclusive school where pupils are eager to learn and behave exceptionally well. Inspectors found an ambitious and broad curriculum, strong early reading, effective early years provision and careful support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils’ personal development is a particular strength: they understand health, safety, equality and British values, contribute proudly to school life and attend well. Parents are overwhelmingly positive, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leadership and governance are strong, with staff well supported and governors helping the school to improve. The main area for improvement is that, in a small number of subjects, curriculum implementation does not yet match the ambition of the curriculum. Some learning activities are not well matched to the knowledge and skills pupils need, so pupils cannot deepen and connect their learning as effectively as they could. The school has begun work on this. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2015, after a period of exemption as an outstanding school. Under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade is awarded; the report instead gives strong judgements for behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision, with quality of education and leadership judged good.

Strengths

• Warm and caring school community where pupils feel safe and happy
• Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary and their attitudes to learning are excellent
• Ambitious and broad curriculum that helps pupils build knowledge over time
• Effective early reading provision with consistent resources and strategies
• Strong early years provision with well-established routines and skilled staff
• Highly inclusive support for pupils with SEND, including early identification
• Pupils have detailed knowledge of health, safety, equality and British values
• Pupils make a proud and active contribution to school life
• High attendance rates reflect pupils’ enjoyment of school
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the care the school offers
• Governors and leaders support staff well and enable continual improvement
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, curriculum implementation does not match the ambition of the curriculum
• Some learning activities are not effectively matched to intended knowledge and skills, limiting pupils’ ability to build on prior learning

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Archibald First School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.3% of pupils at Archibald First School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Archibald First School had 25.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.8% of pupils at Archibald First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Archibald First School received £6,789 and spent £6,668 for each of its 327 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £96,000 (-£293 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne · Newcastle upon Tyne local authority: places and applications

Archibald First School is part of Gosforth Schools' Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Gosforth Central Middle School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Grange First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Regent Farm First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Gosforth East Middle School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• South Gosforth First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Gosforth Park First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Brunton First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Havannah First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Dinnington First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

What is Archibald First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Archibald First School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Archibald First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Archibald First School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Archibald First School have?

Archibald First School has 332 pupils on roll.

What age range does Archibald First School cover?

Archibald First School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is Archibald First School?

Archibald First School is at Archibald Street, Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE3 1EB.