Schools in County Durham
260 state-funded schools, 71,312 pupils. 92.3% of those carrying an Ofsted grade are Good or Outstanding, including 18 rated Outstanding.
Ofsted Management Information, Feb 2026. Grades are the current published rating, which may pre-date the school’s most recent visit.
Ofsted grades
1 school has been inspected under Ofsted's post-September-2024 report-card framework, which replaces the single 1–4 grade with separate judgments. Those are excluded from the percentages above rather than mapped onto the old scale, because the two scales have no clean equivalence.
Quick answers
How many schools are there in County Durham?
County Durham has 260 state-funded schools teaching 71,312 pupils. 209 primary, 30 secondary, 10 nursery.
What percentage of schools in County Durham are Good or Outstanding?
92.3% of the 259 schools carrying an Ofsted grade in County Durham are rated Good or Outstanding: 18 Outstanding and 221 Good. 19 require improvement and 1 are rated Inadequate.
Which schools in County Durham are rated Outstanding?
18 schools are currently rated Outstanding by Ofsted in County Durham: The Academy at Shotton Hall, Sedgefield Community College, Teesdale School and Sixth Form, Sugar Hill Primary School, Framwellgate Moor Primary School, The Oaks Secondary School, and 12 more listed below.
Rated Outstanding
Ofsted’s highest grade. Largest first; a grade can be several years old, so the year is shown.
- The Academy at Shotton HallSecondary1,164Outstanding 2024
- Sedgefield Community CollegeSecondary981Outstanding 2022
- Teesdale School and Sixth FormSecondary691Outstanding 2019
- Sugar Hill Primary SchoolPrimary459Outstanding 2023
- Framwellgate Moor Primary SchoolPrimary389Outstanding 2024
- The Oaks Secondary SchoolSpecial349Outstanding 2023
- Sedgefield Hardwick Primary AcademyPrimary256Outstanding 2017
- West Cornforth Primary SchoolPrimary252Outstanding 2024
- Montalbo Nursery & Primary SchoolPrimary242Outstanding 2023
- Thornhill Primary SchoolPrimary207Outstanding 2023
- Kirk Merrington Primary SchoolPrimary172Outstanding 2024
- St Michael's Church of England Primary SchoolPrimary117Outstanding 2024
- Seaham Harbour Nursery SchoolNursery110Outstanding 2024
- Horden Nursery SchoolNursery110Outstanding 2024
- Rosemary Lane Nursery SchoolNursery110Outstanding 2022
- Wingate Community Nursery SchoolNursery92Outstanding 2022
- Beechdale Nursery SchoolNursery66Outstanding 2023
- Langley Moor Nursery SchoolNursery60Outstanding 2024
By phase
| Phase | Schools | Graded | Good or better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 209 | 208 | 92.8% |
| Secondary | 30 | 30 | 86.7% |
| Nursery | 10 | 10 | 100% |
| Special | 9 | 9 | 88.9% |
| Alternative provision | 2 | 2 | 100% |
Every school in County Durham
Showing 20 of 260 schools.
| New framework | Links | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School | Secondary | 1,688 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Park View School | Secondary | 1,617 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Consett Academy | Secondary | 1,491 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College | Secondary | 1,268 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham | Secondary | 1,260 | Good2019 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester | Secondary | 1,258 | Requires Improvement2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Framwellgate School Durham | Secondary | 1,247 | Requires Improvement2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Academy at Shotton Hall | Secondary | 1,164 | Outstanding2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Seaham High School | Secondary | 1,123 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Woodham Academy | Secondary | 1,027 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Whitworth Park Academy | Secondary | 986 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Sedgefield Community College | Secondary | 981 | Outstanding2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
North Durham Academy | Secondary | 976 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College | Secondary | 937 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Hermitage Academy | Secondary | 932 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
King James I Academy Bishop Auckland | Secondary | 926 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wellfield School | Secondary | 914 | Good2018 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Parkside Academy | Secondary | 881 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Belmont Community School | Secondary | 847 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Easington Academy | Secondary | 788 | Good2019 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Schools are one input. County Durham’s pay, house prices, rent, council tax, crime and deprivation are on the County Durham profile, and the UK regions tool compares all 361 Local Authorities side by side.