Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
Crossgate Moor, Durham, DH1 4SU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rosslyn McFadden
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,700
- Pupils on roll
- 1,667
- URN
- 114312
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913843887
About this school
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is a community secondary school in Durham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,667 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Durham Johnston Comprehensive School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 265 | 259 | 264 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.1 | 56.7 | 55.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.26 +0.09 to +0.43 | +0.18 0.00 to +0.35 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 63% | 67.6% | 62.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 80.3% | 79.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 26% | 27.8% | 29.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.8 |
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 Durham Johnston Comprehensive 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 | 55.1 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.7 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.2 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,673 |
| 2023/24 | 1,689 |
| 2024/25 | 1,688 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Durham Johnston Comprehensive School compares
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School ranked 3rd of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.2 | 6.5% | 15.9% | 1,667 | — |
| St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham | 57.7 | 6.5% | 14.3% | 1,293 | 0.5 miles |
| Framwellgate School Durham | 45.2 | 9.2% | 24.6% | 1,204 | 1.3 miles |
| Durham Academy | 37.4 | 12.2% | 62.1% | 405 | 1.7 miles |
| Belmont Community School | 53.4 | 8.1% | 33.5% | 887 | 2.8 miles |
| Hermitage Academy | 49.1 | 7.4% | 31.2% | 881 | 5.0 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)
- 15.9%
- English as an additional language
- 15.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.53%
- Persistent absence
- 15.53%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham0.5 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Framwellgate School Durham1.3 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Durham Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Belmont Community School2.8 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Hermitage Academy5.0 miles
Secondary · Chester le Street
Other schools in Durham
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School ranks 2nd of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Durham.
- Belmont Community School Secondary
- Durham Academy 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 ages does Durham Johnston Comprehensive School teach?
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Durham.
- Who is the headteacher of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School?
- The headteacher of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is Mrs Rosslyn McFadden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Durham Johnston Comprehensive School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Durham Johnston Comprehensive 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 many pupils are at Durham Johnston Comprehensive School?
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School has 1,667 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Durham Johnston Comprehensive School full?
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School has capacity for 1,700 pupils and 1,667 on roll (98%), 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 Durham Johnston Comprehensive School a faith school?
- No. Durham Johnston Comprehensive School has no designated religious character.
- Is Durham Johnston Comprehensive School a selective school?
- No. Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Durham Johnston Comprehensive School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55.1 in 2022/23 and 55.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Durham Johnston Comprehensive School compare with other schools in County Durham?
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School ranked 3rd of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Durham Johnston Comprehensive School's absence rate?
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Durham Johnston Comprehensive School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Durham Johnston Comprehensive 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 30 June 2026.