Small community with a big heart
A “caring” Catholic primary school in County Durham is “passionately committed” to the religious education of its community-minded pupils who love to help others.
St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, which is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, was recently inspected by the Catholic Schools Inspectorate (CSI) and rated ‘Good’ overall and ‘Outstanding’ in Catholic life and mission.
The CSI, which judges Catholic schools on overall effectiveness, Catholic life and mission, religious education, and collective worship, found that children at the primary school in Wingate enjoy their religious education lessons, display “consistently good” behaviour across the school and have “high levels of respect” for each other and staff.
CSI lead inspector Mark Brennan said in his report: “St Mary’s Catholic Primary School is a caring and distinctively Catholic school community with a strong commitment to the needs of the most vulnerable.
“Governors, senior leaders and all staff are passionately committed to ensuring the pupils know they are loved by God and can share this love with others. They are ambitious and constantly seek ways to develop provision. Pupils feel safe and happy.”
Prayer plays a central role in daily school life and often includes joyful singing. Pupils are developing an understanding of Catholic social teaching principles, including supporting the vulnerable and working together for peace. The Mini-Vinnies group act on these principles through various community and charity activities provided by the school, including visiting the local care home to sing carols, making greetings cards for residents, collecting litter in the nearby park, making poppy crosses for Remembrance Sunday and collecting for the local food bank. They craft items to sell at summer and Christmas fairs, and support national charities such as Cafod, Children in Need, and Comic Relief. They have also contributed to a project providing clean water to a village in Ghana.
“Furthermore, pupils know about and respect people of other faiths,” added the report.
“Pupils demonstrate deep respect for each other and themselves. Behaviour throughout the school is consistently good, both in lessons and at other times of day. Pupils appreciate the opportunities they have to take lead roles in the faith life of the school, such as whole school celebrations and talks to parishioners about Live Simply.”
Leaders and governors are “dedicated and highly ambitious” and are “passionate supporters of the school’s Catholic identity”.
“They collaborate closely with the Diocese and the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust,” continued the report.
“A partnership with a neighbouring Catholic school provides opportunities to share expertise, best practice, resources and training, benefiting both schools.”
St Mary’s is preparing to introduce a new nationally approved religious education programme in September and staff training is well underway for this.
“The subject leader and headteacher have an inspiring vision for the teaching of religious education and work hard, in partnership with a neighbouring Catholic school, to ensure all staff have the same vision, and are well prepared,” added the report.
Headteacher Julie Hill said: “This report truly captures the ethos of our wonderful school community and is a lovely celebration of all we stand for.
“Our staff are indeed passionate and deeply committed to the school’s mission, and we were delighted that the inspectors recognised this. They captured us perfectly when they said, ‘Although this is a small community, it has a big heart.’”
The school was inspected by the CSI last month [February 2026] on behalf of the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
For more information about St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, visit www.stmaryswingate.org
For more information about BCCET, visit www.bccet.org.uk
ENDS
Photo caption: Small community with a big heart: Headteacher Julie Hill with pupils at St Mary’s Primary, Wingate.
Press release issued by SASS media on behalf of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust. For more information, contact Sarah Dale on 07814 976582.