St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon

St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon was judged outstanding in every key area inspected: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was its first section 5 inspection, and it is part of the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust. The report describes an exceptionally nurturing school where pupils are happy, confident and articulate, and where staff have very high aspirations for all pupils, including those with SEND.

Strengths

• Exceptionally happy, confident and articulate pupils
• Outstanding early years provision with strong communication, rhyme, story and song
• Highly effective early reading and phonics approach
• Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve exceptionally well across the curriculum
• Exemplary pupil behaviour and high levels of empathy
• Outstanding personal development and community contribution
• High attendance and rigorous monitoring of behaviour and attendance
• Relentless leadership, effective governor and trust oversight, and strong staff development

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 St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon attended 97.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon 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 St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.5% 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, 6.4% of pupils at St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.4% 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 2024–25 St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon received £6,269 and spent £5,943 for each of its 238 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £221,000 (£927 per pupil).

Across all 46 schools of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,708 and spending £7,760 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Blaydon-On-Tyne · Gateshead local authority: places and applications

St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon is part of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon Blaydon-On-Tyne
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Blaydon Blaydon-On-Tyne
• St Agnes' Catholic Primary School, Crawcrook Ryton
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whickham Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School, Dunston Gateshead
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Byermoor Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, Prudhoe Prudhoe
• Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead Gateshead
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Gateshead Gateshead
• St Peter's Catholic Primary School, Low Fell Gateshead

What is St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon is Outstanding, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon have?

St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon has 234 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon cover?

St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 90% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon?

St Mary & St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Blaydon is at Stella Lane, Blaydon-on-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE21 4NE.