Bowes Hutchinson's CofE (Aided) School
Primary · Barnard Castle · DL12 9LG
Data updated
Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)
The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.
Inspected 25 March 2026 · report published 18 May 2026
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
39 pupils · 56% of 70 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Age range
- 2–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Free school meals
- 7.7% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 2.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 16.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 2.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Nursery
- Yes
- URN
- 114237
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 5 families named it first for 5 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. We hold 4 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2022 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 25 March 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026
1.00 first-choice applications per place5 places offered · 5 first-choice applications · roughly balanced
First-choice applications per place, by entry year
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.
Admissions cutoff distance: Reception
The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.
Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: County Durham school admissions
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
4 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
suppressed (small cohort)
suppressed (small cohort)
suppressed (small cohort)
suppressed (small cohort)
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 100% (County Durham 90%, England 60%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · County Durham: 3.75 suspensions and 0.04 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
60% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 20% moved to another state school · 20% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
42.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 18 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,679; 33.3% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2025-26)
Where the money went (2025-26)
Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (76%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (8%) · supplies and services 10% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 4% (3%) · catering 3% (5%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £91,328; in-year balance -£45,032
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 25 March 2026: Expected standard
- 20 September 2023: Requires improvement
- 12 March 2019: Exempt School Inspection
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 5/10around the middle for England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 41.5% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 13.2% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 38.8% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 8.7% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 47.7% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 70.3% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 2.3% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 27.3% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 55.3% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 1.5% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 37.2% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 5.7% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020863 · how to read area figures
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 0a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 1a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 1a rural school averages 0.9
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted