Appletree Gardens First School, Whitley Bay
Appletree Gardens First School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 9 in Whitley Bay, part of The North Tyneside Learning Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2024 did not change this grade. It was 87% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to North Tyneside (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Appletree Gardens First School in detail
Appletree Gardens First School in its own words
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:45am and after-school care.
Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Appletree Gardens First School
For September 2026 entry, 38 families put Appletree Gardens First School as their first choice and 77 named it as one of their preferences, for 40 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Appletree Gardens First School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Appletree Gardens First School are Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Whitley Bay (0.3 miles, 87% reading, 73% maths); Langley First School (0.4 miles, Good); St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Cullercoats (0.7 miles, 89% reading, 86% maths); and Preston Grange Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 90% reading, 83% maths).
Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Whitley BayLangley First SchoolSt Mary's Catholic Primary School, CullercoatsPreston Grange Primary School
The trust
Appletree Gardens First School is one of 31 schools run by The North Tyneside Learning Trust, an academy trust.
Who goes there
8.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (81%) and Asian (8%).
In 2026, 44 pupils (15.1%) received SEN support and 8 (2.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Appletree Gardens First School had 17 teachers in 2026, one for every 15 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Monkseaton (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 670 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).
12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bromley Avenue-Wembley Avenue (s-bound), 200 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Appletree Gardens First School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
Appletree Gardens First School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Appletree Gardens First School are Monkseaton Coastal School (0.1 miles), Monkseaton High School (0.4 miles), Marden Bridge Middle School (0.6 miles) and Valley Gardens Middle School (0.7 miles).
Monkseaton Coastal SchoolMonkseaton High SchoolMarden Bridge Middle SchoolValley Gardens Middle School
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from November 2013, 12 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils are extremely proud to attend this happy and welcoming school. The school's overarching aim is to grow learners. This aim is strongly supported by the five values that sit at the heart of all the school's work. These values include having opportunities, reaching your full potential and having a voice.
Pupils are keen to learn. They talk with enthusiasm about their learning. Pupils benefit from a broad and interesting curriculum that opens their eyes to the world around them. The school offers all pupils a range of wider opportunities. These excite and engage pupils while enhancing their learning.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Ambition for all is central to the school's curriculum. The school has carefully considered the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Teachers deliver it with confidence. Pupils have many opportunities to revisit and build on their prior learning. Where there are gaps or misconceptions, teachers intervene to address these quickly. Most subjects, such as mathematics and history, are well developed. These subjects have well-considered teaching approaches. In these more developed subjects, the school reinforces pupils' learning through practical experiences. For example in history, Year 3 pupils learn more about life in the Stone Age through making and using ancient tools. Similarly, Year 2 pupils, when learning about The Great Fire of Newcastle, make models of the buildings that were destroyed by that fire. Pupils can confidently recall what they learned from these hands-on activities. Some foundation subjects need further refinement. In these, less developed subjects, the school does not reinforce key learning as effectively as it could.
Children get off to a flying start in early years. Children display a love for learning. They sustain concentration in their play. Right from the start of school, children benefit from well-planned activities.
From Ofsted's June 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its November 2013 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
27.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
25.9
Avg class size
26.5
Infant (KS1)
25.0
KS2
10
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Appletree Gardens First School
Autumn 2026 Diary dates
2 Sep 2026
September Newsletter
1 Sep 2026
July 2026
1 Jul 2026
Summer 2 2026
1 Jun 2026
Summer Schedule
1 May 2026
From Appletree Gardens First School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Appletree Gardens First School
Getting There
Tube / Metro / Tram
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Appletree Gardens First School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Appletree Gardens First School is in North Tyneside; for families living there:
Apply to North Tyneside for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 17
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 14 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
8 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in North Tyneside is 12 (the median across 84 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Appletree Gardens First School
Will you get a place at Appletree Gardens First School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Appletree Gardens First School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Appletree Gardens First School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Appletree Gardens First School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from North Tyneside, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Appletree Gardens First School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in North Tyneside got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
87%
Available places
256 pupils
293 places
37 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Whitley Bay
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Whitley Bay
Across North Tyneside council
Places available
2,516
Applications
2,025
Got 1st preference
91.7%
Got preferred school
96.2%
All primary applications across North Tyneside council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
44
SEN Support
8
EHC Plans
17.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
292
Total Pupils
154
Boys
138
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
17
Teachers
17.2:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,345
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,421
Per pupil
£1586k
Total funding
£114k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.2%
Overall absence
16.0%
Persistent absence
219
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Appletree Gardens First School
Questions parents ask about Appletree Gardens First School
What is Appletree Gardens First School's Ofsted rating?
Appletree Gardens First School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in November 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Appletree Gardens First School?
No fixed boundary. When Appletree Gardens First School is oversubscribed, North Tyneside allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Appletree Gardens First School?
Appletree Gardens First School was not full in 2025: it ran at 87% of its 293 places.
How big are the classes at Appletree Gardens First School?
Classes at Appletree Gardens First School average 25.9 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Appletree Gardens First School?
Appletree Gardens First School has around 292 pupils on roll. 27% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Appletree Gardens First School?
5.2% of sessions were missed at Appletree Gardens First School in 2024/25. 16% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Appletree Gardens First School?
Apply through North Tyneside's coordinated admissions process, naming Appletree Gardens First School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Appletree Gardens First School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 14 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 8 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in North Tyneside is 12 (the median across 84 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Appletree Gardens First School?
Appletree Gardens First School is at Appletree Gardens, Monkseaton, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, NE25 8XS.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)