James Calvert Spence College
Acklington Road, Amble, Morpeth, NE65 0NG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr James Andriot
- Constituency
- North Northumberland
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,049
- Pupils on roll
- 567
- URN
- 122363
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01665710636
About this school
James Calvert Spence College is a community secondary school in Morpeth. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 567 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected James Calvert Spence College, 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 97 | 91 | 86 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 30% | 30% | 30% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 56% | 52% | 50% |
| Expected standard in maths | 54% | 35% | 42% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 52% | 59% | 50% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 97.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.70 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 90 | 96 | 85 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.7 | 34.1 | 34.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.10 -0.20 to +0.39 | -0.36 -0.65 to -0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 17.7% | 23.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 39.6% | 38.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 13% | 10.4% | 8.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
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 James Calvert Spence College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Northumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30% | 54.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 30% | 52.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 30% | 56% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Northumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.7 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 34.1 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 34.9 | 35.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 742 |
| 2023/24 | 733 |
| 2024/25 | 636 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How James Calvert Spence College compares
James Calvert Spence College ranked 15th of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 27% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 34.9 | 10.6% | 34.7% | 567 | — |
| The Duchess's Community High School | 43.2 | 9.9% | 18.4% | 1,276 | 6.4 miles |
| Ashington Academy | 47.1 | 8% | 35.5% | 964 | 10.4 miles |
| King Edwin Primary School | — | 4.5% | 26.5% | 161 | 0.3 miles |
| Amble Links Primary School | — | 4.6% | 33.5% | 216 | 1.0 miles |
| NCEA Warkworth Church of England Primary School | — | 4.5% | 14.7% | 200 | 1.1 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)
- 34.68%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 10.59%
- Persistent absence
- 31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Duchess's Community High School6.4 miles
Secondary · Alnwick
-
Ashington Academy10.4 miles
Secondary · Ashington
-
King Edwin Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Amble
-
Amble Links Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Morpeth
-
NCEA Warkworth Church of England Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Morpeth
Other schools in Morpeth
- The King Edward VI School Secondary
- Abbeyfields First School Primary
- Amble Links Primary School Primary
- Broomhill Primary School Primary
- Cambo First School Primary
- Ellington Primary School Primary
- Felton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Grange View Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Harbottle Church of England First School Primary
- Linton Primary School Primary
- Longhorsley St Helen's Church of England Aided First School Primary
- Morpeth All Saints Church of England First School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does James Calvert Spence College teach?
- James Calvert Spence College teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Morpeth.
- Who is the headteacher of James Calvert Spence College?
- The headteacher of James Calvert Spence College is Mr James Andriot, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has James Calvert Spence College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected James Calvert Spence College, 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 James Calvert Spence College?
- James Calvert Spence College has 567 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is James Calvert Spence College full?
- James Calvert Spence College has capacity for 1,049 pupils and 567 on roll (54%), so it has space against 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 James Calvert Spence College a faith school?
- No. James Calvert Spence College has no designated religious character.
- How have James Calvert Spence College's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 30% in 2022/23 and 30% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does James Calvert Spence College compare with other schools in Northumberland?
- James Calvert Spence College ranked 15th of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 27% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is James Calvert Spence College's absence rate?
- James Calvert Spence College's overall absence rate is 10.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are James Calvert Spence College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, James Calvert Spence College'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.