A rural church school which overcome an unexpected challenge this year has been named among the top ranking primary schools in the UK.
Staindrop Church of England Primary near Barnard Castle has been acknowledged in the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, which evaluates the performance of schools in their local authority, region and nationally.
In the latest published guide, Staindrop is ranked 46th in the national list of top performing primary schools. It is fourth in the North East list and number one in County Durham.
The accolade comes just three months after a burst pipe caused flooding in part of the school premises in September, which led to the refurbishment of the school hall and classrooms for Key Stage 2 pupils.
“This is wonderful news,” said headteacher Steve Whelerton. “It is very much a silver lining after a challenging start to the term and is testament to the hard work and dedication of our children, families and staff.”
Staindrop Primary has performed consistently well in the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide for the past 10 years. Steve said the school’s character development approach is key to pupil development as well as attainment.
“It’s a very nurturing school,” explained Steve. “There is empathy for each pupil and their individual needs. At the same time, we want to make school a fun and interesting place for them to learn.
“That pastoral care should not be overlooked. It does pave the way for academic success. We’ve had consistent results, not just in reading, maths and English, but across all subjects, including history, geography and art. It is a broad curriculum.”
The school is steeped in Christian values, and Steve said the Joint Education Team (JET) for Durham and Newcastle dioceses has been very supportive in helping the school to recover from the recent flooding.
“The support we’ve had has been fantastic,” he added. “The priority is always the children and after minimising the initial disruption of the flooding incident, we now have newly-refurbished facilities which are helping both pupils and staff to thrive.”