Schools in Durham
Durham City and its surrounding villages have 59 schools in the catchment.school database, covering 45 primaries and 6 secondaries. Admissions are coordinated by Durham County Council, which uses straight-line distance as the main oversubscription criterion at community schools after sibling and looked-after children priorities. Twenty schools in the Durham area are faith schools - Church of England and Roman Catholic - each with supplementary information forms.
Secondary admissions in Durham City are anchored by Durham Johnston Comprehensive, Durham School (independent), and a ring of academy schools at Belmont, Framwellgate Moor, and Sherburn. Durham Johnston, as a high-achieving non-selective comprehensive, is heavily oversubscribed; last-offered distances in recent years have been under two miles. Families in rural County Durham villages should check whether their address falls within the published catchment zone before October 31.
School demand in Durham
Across the 54 schools in Durham with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 87%. 5 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.
20 schools in Durham have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
28 of the schools in Durham are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of County Durham, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
27 of the schools in Durham have a current Ofsted rating, of which 23 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Durham: 5 oversubscribed (45)
Cassop Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH6 4RA
Coxhoe Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH6 4EJ
Langley Moor Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH7 8LL
Witton Gilbert Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH7 6TF
Pittington Primary School
Primary · Community school
DURHAM · DH6 1AF
Ludworth Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH6 1LZ
Sherburn Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH6 1DU
Bearpark Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH7 7AU
Neville's Cross Primary School and Nursery
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH1 4JG
Durham Newton Hall Infants' School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH1 5LP
Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH1 2TX
Laurel Avenue Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH1 2EY
Wheatley Hill Community Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH6 3RQ
Durham Gilesgate Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH1 1PH
Belmont CofE (Controlled) Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Durham · DH1 2AG
St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Durham · DH1 3DQ
Shincliffe CofE (Controlled) Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Durham · DH1 2PN
St Margaret's Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Durham · DH1 4QB
Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Durham · DH1 5LP
Silver Tree Primary School and Nursery
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH7 7LF
Finchale Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH1 5XT
Framwellgate Moor Primary School
Primary · Community school
Durham · DH1 5BG
Lanchester Endowed Parochial Primary School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Durham · DH7 0HU
South Hetton Primary
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Durham · DH6 2TJ
Sacriston Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Durham · DH7 6LQ
St Godrics Catholic Primary School, Thornley
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH6 3NR
St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Sacriston
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 6AB
Our Lady & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 7LF
St Godric's Catholic Primary School, Durham
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH1 5LZ
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Ushaw Moor
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 7LF
St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh Village
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 9QY
Esh CofE (Aided) Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 9QR
All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 0JG
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Gilesgate
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH1 2JQ
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH6 2JQ
Brandon Primary Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 8NL
Langley Park Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 9XN
New Brancepeth Primary Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 7EU
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Langley Moor
Primary · Academy converter
DURHAM · DH7 8JJ
Burnhope Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 0AG
Middlestone Moor Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DL16 7DA
St Hild's College Church of England Primary School, Durham
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH1 2HZ
Esh Winning Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 9BE
Thornley Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH6 3DZ
Edmondsley Primary Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 6DU
Secondary Schools in Durham (6)
Belmont Community School
Secondary · Community school
Durham · DH1 2AG
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
Secondary · Community school
Durham · DH1 4SU
Framwellgate School Durham
Secondary · Academy converter
Durham · DH1 5BQ
St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester
Secondary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 0RD
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham
Secondary · Academy converter
Durham · DH1 4NG
Durham Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Durham · DH7 7NG
Other Schools in Durham (8)
Langley Moor Nursery School
Nursery · Local authority nursery school
Durham · DH7 8LL
Elemore Hall School
Not applicable · Community special school
Durham · DH6 1QD
Durham Trinity School & Sports College
Not applicable · Community special school
Durham · DH1 5WB
New College Durham
All through · Further education
Durham · DH1 5ES
University of Durham
Not applicable · Higher education institutions
Durham · DH1 3HP
Hope Wood Academy
Not applicable · Academy special converter
Durham · SR8 3LP
Durham Sixth Form Centre
All through · Academy 16-19 converter
Durham · DH1 1SG
Strawberry Lane
Not applicable · Other independent special school
Durham · DH6 5BE
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Durham are set by County Durham and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.