St Joseph's Catholic Junior School, Birtley
Academy converter primary school in Chester le Street (Gateshead).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
St. Joseph's Catholic Infant and Junior Schools are located just short of 0.4miles away from one another, in the heart of Birtley. The two schools operate under one executive headteacher, one leadership team and a federated local governing committee. The schools stem from the parish of St Josephs, Birtley, which is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
The parish was first established in 1696 and is one of the oldest parishes in the diocese.
Historically, the geographical area of the parish straddled two local authority areas, Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council and Durham County Council, before Birtley was transferred to Gateshead Council when the council boundaries were redrawn in the 1974 (although it still kept its postal address of Co. Durham).
The parish of St. Josephs is served by three Catholic primary schools, St Josephs Infants and Juniors School in Birtley and St Benets Primary School in Ouston. Josephs Catholic Infant School is located on Mitchell Street – a short distance away from Birtley Fire Station.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
9 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Coding
- Computing
- Football
- Lego
- Music
- Netball
- Rugby
- Stem
- Swimming
Key facts
- URN
- 148844
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2021
Governing body (10 current, 1 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Spain | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| karolina Jablonka | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Angela Snaith | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| David Miller | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Gemma Grieves | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Simon Carlton | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Graeme McConnell | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Tim Spain | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr Kate Swaddle | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2022 |
| Joanne Nicholson | Local Governance Professional - Individual Academy or Free SchoolGovernance professional | since 2021 | |
| Michelle Dixon Former | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2021 · term ended 2025 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record