South Gosforth First School

South Gosforth First School continues to demonstrate strong performance as a good school, striving to provide an enriching educational experience for its pupils. The school has successfully implemented an ambitious curriculum, emphasizing the importance of reading, and has received positive feedback from both parents and pupils regarding the care and cultural experiences offered. Pupils feel happy and safe, enjoying a well-structured environment that supports their learning and development. While several aspects of the school are commendable, including effective support for pupils with special educational needs and a positive approach to diversity, there are areas for improvement. Specifically, the assessment system for certain foundation subjects needs enhancement to better identify knowledge gaps and connect students' current learning with prior knowledge. Overall, the school is on a solid path but must address these assessment concerns to further bolster its educational effectiveness.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum that enables important knowledge and skills acquisition.
• Strong emphasis on reading, with well-trained staff and tailored reading materials.
• Positive behavior management, ensuring a safe and happy learning environment.
• Variety of extracurricular clubs and cultural experiences offered.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Strong knowledge of diversity and inclusivity among pupils.
• Engagement of pupils in community-oriented activities and responsibilities.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment system for some foundation subjects does not effectively identify knowledge gaps.
• Pupils sometimes struggle to make connections between new and previously learned material.

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 South Gosforth First School attended 97.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.3% 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, 0.6% of pupils at South Gosforth 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 South Gosforth First School had 24.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.4% 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, 6.5% of pupils at South Gosforth First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.9% 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 South Gosforth First School received £6,454 and spent £6,367 for each of its 325 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £54,000 (-£165 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

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

• Gosforth Central Middle School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Archibald First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Gosforth East Middle School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Grange First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Gosforth Park First School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Regent Farm 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 South Gosforth First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Gosforth First School is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

When was South Gosforth First School last inspected by Ofsted?

South Gosforth First School was last inspected in September 2022.

How many pupils does South Gosforth First School have?

South Gosforth First School has 325 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Gosforth First School cover?

South Gosforth First School for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is South Gosforth First School?

South Gosforth First School is at Alnmouth Drive, South Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE3 1YF.