Schools in Peterlee
Peterlee is a post-war new town in County Durham, built in the 1950s to rehouse mining communities from the East Durham coalfield. The town has 20 state schools - 12 primary and 4 secondary - serving a concentrated urban population in the East Durham district. Durham County Council coordinates admissions, applying a distance-based tiebreaker after looked-after children and siblings. Peterlee's schools serve a community that has experienced significant economic change following the decline of the mining industry, and several schools are part of academy trusts working across the East Durham area.
Secondary schools in Peterlee include a mix of academies and community schools, and admissions criteria can differ between school types. Families should check each school's individual admissions policy, particularly for academy schools that set their own oversubscription criteria. Durham County Council publishes its co-ordinated admissions scheme timetable and catchment guidance each autumn for the following September intake.
School demand in Peterlee
Across the 16 schools in Peterlee with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 92%. 6 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.
4 schools in Peterlee have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
9 of the schools in Peterlee 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.
8 of the schools in Peterlee have a current Ofsted rating, of which 8 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Peterlee: 3 oversubscribed (12)
Cotsford Primary School
Primary · Community school
Peterlee · SR8 4EH
Acre Rigg Infant School
Primary · Community school
Peterlee · SR8 2DU
Yohden Primary School
Primary · Community school
Peterlee · SR8 4HP
Howletch Lane Primary School
Primary · Community school
Peterlee · SR8 2NQ
Easington Colliery Primary School
Primary · Community school
Peterlee · SR8 3DJ
Seascape Primary School
Primary · Community school
Peterlee · SR8 5NJ
Shotton Hall Primary School
Primary · Community school
Peterlee · SR8 1NX
Acre Rigg Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Peterlee · SR8 2DU
Dene House Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Peterlee · SR8 5RL
Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Peterlee · SR8 1DE
Easington CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Peterlee · SR8 3BP
Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Peterlee · SR8 4AB
Secondary Schools in Peterlee (4)
The Academy at Shotton Hall
Secondary · Academy converter
Peterlee · SR8 1AU
Easington Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Peterlee · SR8 3AY
Dene Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Peterlee · SR8 5RL
St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College
Secondary · Academy converter
Peterlee · SR8 1DE
Other Schools in Peterlee (4)
Horden Nursery School
Nursery · Local authority nursery school
Peterlee · SR8 4TB
Rosemary Lane Nursery School
Nursery · Local authority nursery school
Peterlee · SR8 3BQ
East Durham College
All through · Further education
Peterlee · SR8 2RN
Endeavour Academy Durham
Not applicable · Free schools alternative provision
Peterlee · SR8 2RN
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Peterlee 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.