Esh Winning Academy, Durham
Esh Winning Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in Durham, part of Wise Academies. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 36th-highest of the 43 schools in Durham with published results, and 11,625th of 14,452 across England. It was 82% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to County Durham (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Esh Winning Academy in detail
Results
In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils at Esh Winning Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 66% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 74% in County Durham and 77% and 75% across England.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Esh Winning Academy
For September 2026 entry, 24 families put Esh Winning Academy as their first choice and 29 named it as one of their preferences, for 25 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Esh Winning Academy are St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh Village (1.7 miles, Good, 95% reading, 90% maths); Esh CofE (Aided) Primary School (1.7 miles, Good, 67% reading, 73% maths); New Brancepeth Primary Academy (2.3 miles, 77% reading, 86% maths); and Stanley (Crook) Primary School (2.4 miles, Good, 80% reading, 73% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Esh Winning Academy.
St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Esh VillageEsh CofE (Aided) Primary SchoolNew Brancepeth Primary AcademyStanley (Crook) Primary School
The trust
Esh Winning Academy is one of 18 schools run by Wise Academies, an academy trust.
Who goes there
36.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 2.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Esh Winning Academy.
18 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is County Primary School (se-bound), 110 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Esh Winning Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 28 crimes within a mile of the school, most often criminal damage and arson, violence and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in County Durham (84).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Esh Winning Academy issued 7 suspensions, 2.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; 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
Esh Winning Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in September 2024. Before that, as Esh Winning Primary School (URN 114138), it was rated Good in March 2013.
At a Glance
36.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
2024/25 academic year
Class Sizes
28.4
Avg class size
32.0
Infant (KS1)
25.0
KS2
7
Total classes
4 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Esh Winning Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Esh Winning Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Esh Winning Academy is in County Durham; for families living there:
- County Durham's school travel policy: School transport policies and strategies
- How to apply: Apply for free home to school travel
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 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 County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 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 Esh Winning Academy
Will you get a place at Esh Winning Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Esh Winning Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Esh Winning Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Esh Winning Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from County Durham, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Esh Winning Academy for 2025 and 2026 entry.
- How many families in County Durham 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
82%
Available places
240 pupils
291 places
51 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Durham
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Durham
Across County Durham council
Places available
6,581
Applications
4,409
Got 1st preference
97.3%
Got preferred school
99.4%
All primary applications across County Durham council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
59
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
24.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
287
Total Pupils
155
Boys
132
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
23.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£57,755
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,771
Per pupil
£1634k
Total funding
£164k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.0%
Overall absence
19.5%
Persistent absence
220
Enrolments
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Esh Winning Academy
What are SATs results like at Esh Winning Academy?
Of the pupils at Esh Winning Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 66% reached the expected standard in reading and 66% did so in maths.
What is Esh Winning Academy's Ofsted rating?
Esh Winning Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in September 2024. Before that, as Esh Winning Primary School (URN 114138), it was rated Good in March 2013.
What is the catchment area for Esh Winning Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Esh Winning Academy is oversubscribed, County Durham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Esh Winning Academy?
Esh Winning Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 82% of its 291 places.
How big are the classes at Esh Winning Academy?
Classes at Esh Winning Academy average 28.4 pupils (2025/26). 4 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Esh Winning Academy?
Esh Winning Academy has around 287 pupils on roll. 36% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Esh Winning Academy?
7% of sessions were missed at Esh Winning Academy in 2024/25. 19.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Esh Winning Academy?
Apply through County Durham's coordinated admissions process, naming Esh Winning Academy 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 Esh Winning Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 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 County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Esh Winning Academy?
Esh Winning Academy is at The Wynds, Esh Winning, Durham, DH7 9BE.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)