OFSTED
Latest graded inspection
10 May 2023
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
—
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
1,493
1,493 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
743
49.8% of pupils
Male pupils
750
50.2% of pupils
8.2 pts
above England
School
33.0%
County Durham
32.2%
North East
32.0%
England
24.8%
16.4 pts
below England
School
3.9%
County Durham
4.7%
North East
10.0%
England
20.3%
0.6 pts
below England
School
0.4%
County Durham
0.5%
North East
0.9%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
93.8%
1,400
Any other White background
2.9%
44
Any other Asian background
0.3%
5
Any other ethnic group
0.3%
5
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
13.5%
201 of
1,493 pupils
7.4 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
SEN support
11.0%
164 pupils
England
14.8%
3.8 pts
below
EHC plans
2.5%
37 pupils
England
6.0%
3.6 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Most common identified needs
Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health
68
Autistic spectrum disorder
41
Specific learning difficulty
26
Speech, language & communication
20
Moderate learning difficulty
18
No specialist assessment yet
11
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
8.50%
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.28 pts
higher than
England
School
8.50%
County Durham
6.04%
North East
6.28%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
Persistent absence
26.78%
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
10.97 pts
higher than
England
School
26.78%
County Durham
15.78%
North East
16.04%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
Severe absence
5.09%
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
3.28 pts
higher than
England
School
5.09%
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
87.8%
4.5 pts
below England
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.