High Tunstall College of Science
Elwick Road, West Park, Hartlepool, TS26 0LQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Tilling
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Hartlepool
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,394
- Pupils on roll
- 1,399
- URN
- 111748
- Local authority
- Hartlepool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01429261446
About this school
High Tunstall College of Science is a foundation secondary school in Hartlepool. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,399 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected High Tunstall College of Science, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 244 | 271 | 274 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.9 | 44.4 | 44.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.63 -0.81 to -0.45 | -0.32 -0.49 to -0.15 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 36.5% | 48.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 61.3% | 63.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 19.9% | 20.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How High Tunstall College of Science has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Hartlepool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39.9 | 35.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.4 | 41.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.3 | 43.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,352 |
| 2023/24 | 1,387 |
| 2024/25 | 1,396 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How High Tunstall College of Science compares
High Tunstall College of Science ranked 3rd of 5 secondary schools in Hartlepool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.3 | 7.3% | 29.8% | 1,399 | — |
| English Martyrs Catholic School and Sixth Form College | 41.2 | 10.2% | 35% | 1,420 | 1.0 miles |
| Dyke House Sports and Technology College | 49.2 | 9% | 54.9% | 1,293 | 1.3 miles |
| St Hild's Church of England School | 34 | 13.7% | 54.5% | 581 | 1.6 miles |
| Manor Community Academy | 46.9 | 10.6% | 53.3% | 984 | 2.1 miles |
| St Michael's Catholic Academy | 41.9 | 10.5% | 34.2% | 892 | 5.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.8%
- English as an additional language
- 4.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.29%
- Persistent absence
- 16.76%
Location
Nearby schools
-
English Martyrs Catholic School and Sixth Form College1.0 miles
Secondary · Hartlepool
-
Dyke House Sports and Technology College1.3 miles
Secondary · Hartlepool
-
St Hild's Church of England School1.6 miles
Secondary · Hartlepool
-
Manor Community Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Hartlepool
-
St Michael's Catholic Academy5.2 miles
Secondary · Billingham
Other schools in Hartlepool
High Tunstall College of Science ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Hartlepool.
- Dyke House Sports and Technology College Secondary
- English Martyrs Catholic School and Sixth Form College Secondary
- Manor Community Academy Secondary
- St Hild's Church of England School Secondary
- Barnard Grove Primary School Primary
- Blackhall Primary School Primary
- Brougham Primary School Primary
- Clavering Primary School Primary
- Eldon Grove Academy Primary
- Eskdale Academy Primary
- Fens Primary School Primary
- Golden Flatts Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does High Tunstall College of Science teach?
- High Tunstall College of Science teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Hartlepool.
- Who is the headteacher of High Tunstall College of Science?
- The headteacher of High Tunstall College of Science is Mr Mark Tilling, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has High Tunstall College of Science been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected High Tunstall College of Science, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at High Tunstall College of Science?
- High Tunstall College of Science has 1,399 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is High Tunstall College of Science full?
- High Tunstall College of Science has capacity for 1,394 pupils and 1,399 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is High Tunstall College of Science a faith school?
- No. High Tunstall College of Science has no designated religious character.
- Is High Tunstall College of Science a selective school?
- No. High Tunstall College of Science is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does High Tunstall College of Science have?
- The schools register lists High Tunstall College of Science's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have High Tunstall College of Science's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39.9 in 2022/23 and 44.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does High Tunstall College of Science compare with other schools in Hartlepool?
- High Tunstall College of Science ranked 3rd of 5 secondary schools in Hartlepool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 54% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is High Tunstall College of Science's absence rate?
- High Tunstall College of Science's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are High Tunstall College of Science's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, High Tunstall College of Science's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.