Belmont Community School
The Links, Belmont, Durham, DH1 2AG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Marsden
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 887
- URN
- 114308
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913865715
About this school
Belmont Community School is a community secondary school in Durham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 887 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 20 March 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 152 | 136 | 142 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.7 | 48.1 | 53.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.42 +0.19 to +0.65 | +0.15 -0.09 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 47.8% | 59.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 68.4% | 71.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 45% | 91.2% | 92.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 |
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 Belmont Community School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.7 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.1 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.4 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 814 |
| 2023/24 | 823 |
| 2024/25 | 847 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Belmont Community School compares
Belmont Community School ranked 4th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.4 | 8.1% | 33.5% | 887 | — |
| St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham | 57.7 | 6.5% | 14.3% | 1,293 | 2.4 miles |
| Framwellgate School Durham | 45.2 | 9.2% | 24.6% | 1,204 | 2.5 miles |
| Durham Johnston Comprehensive School | 55.2 | 6.5% | 15.9% | 1,667 | 2.8 miles |
| Hetton Academy | 51.8 | 10% | 44.4% | 681 | 3.5 miles |
| Kepier | 43.6 | 10% | 37.2% | 1,131 | 4.4 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 33.53%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.07%
- Persistent absence
- 24.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham2.4 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Framwellgate School Durham2.5 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School2.8 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Hetton Academy3.5 miles
Secondary · Houghton le Spring
-
Kepier4.4 miles
Secondary · Houghton le Spring
Other schools in Durham
Belmont Community School ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Durham.
- Durham Academy Secondary
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School Secondary
- Framwellgate School Durham Secondary
- St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester Secondary
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham Secondary
- Langley Moor Nursery School Nursery
- All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester Primary
- Bearpark Primary School Primary
- Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School Primary
- Belmont CofE (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School Primary
- Brandon Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Belmont Community School teach?
- Belmont Community School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Durham.
- Who is the headteacher of Belmont Community School?
- The headteacher of Belmont Community School is Mr Paul Marsden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Belmont Community School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Belmont Community School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Belmont Community School?
- Belmont Community School has 887 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Belmont Community School full?
- Belmont Community School has capacity for 900 pupils and 887 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Belmont Community School a faith school?
- No. Belmont Community School has no designated religious character.
- Is Belmont Community School a selective school?
- No. Belmont Community School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Belmont Community School have?
- The schools register lists Belmont Community School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Belmont Community School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.7 in 2022/23 and 53.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Belmont Community School rank locally?
- Belmont Community School ranked 4th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Belmont Community School's absence rate?
- Belmont Community School's overall absence rate is 8.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Belmont Community School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Belmont Community School'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 8 July 2026.