OFSTED
Latest graded inspection
21 June 2022
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy sponsor led
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Does not apply
Local authority
County Durham
Trust
CONNECT MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics
for 2025/26.
2025/26
Total pupils
935
935 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
439
47.0% of pupils
Male pupils
496
53.0% of pupils
25.8 pts
above England
School
50.6%
County Durham
32.2%
North East
32.0%
England
24.8%
16.7 pts
below England
School
3.6%
County Durham
4.7%
North East
10.0%
England
20.3%
0.5 pts
above England
School
1.5%
County Durham
0.5%
North East
0.9%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
Any other White background
1.5%
14
Any other ethnic group
0.9%
8
Any other Black background
0.4%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an
education, health and care plan.
2025/26
Pupils with SEN
19.7%
184 of
935 pupils
1.1 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
SEN support
16.5%
154 pupils
England
14.8%
1.7 pts
above
EHC plans
3.2%
30 pupils
England
6.0%
2.8 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Most common identified needs
Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health
60
Moderate learning difficulty
39
Autistic spectrum disorder
22
Speech, language & communication
22
Specific learning difficulty
13
No specialist assessment yet
10
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published
2025/26 Department for Education school-level data.
Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support
and pupils with EHC plans.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education
absence data for
2024/25.
Lower absence rates are generally
better.
2024/25
ABSENCE RATE
Overall absence
12.23%
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
6.01 pts
higher than
England
School
12.23%
County Durham
6.04%
North East
6.28%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
Persistent absence
36.77%
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
20.96 pts
higher than
England
School
36.77%
County Durham
15.78%
North East
16.04%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
Severe absence
7.26%
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
5.46 pts
higher than
England
School
7.26%
County Durham
1.43%
North East
1.83%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open
secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
55.0%
37.3 pts
below England
North Durham Academy
55.0%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.