Hill Top School
Wealcroft, Felling, Gateshead, NE10 8LT
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Executive Headteacher
- Ms Anita Bell
- Federation
- Dryden & Hill Top Learning Federation
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Jarrow and Gateshead East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 120
- Pupils on roll
- 127
- URN
- 130942
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Telephone
- 01914692462
About this school
Hill Top School is a community special school in Gateshead. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 127 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hill Top 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 February 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 | 20 | 18 | 21 |
| Attainment 8 score | 1.4 | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | -1.68 -2.35 to -1.01 | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 5% | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 5% | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | - | - |
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 Hill Top 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 131 |
| 2023/24 | 130 |
| 2024/25 | 135 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 59.17%
- English as an additional language
- 12.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.7%
- Persistent absence
- 20.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Furrowfield School0.7 miles
Special schools · Gateshead
-
Ateres Girls High School1.3 miles
Independent schools · Gateshead
-
The Cedars Academy1.4 miles
Academies · Gateshead
-
River Tyne Academy Gateshead1.6 miles
Academies · Gateshead
-
Dryden School1.7 miles
Special schools · Gateshead
Other schools in Gateshead
- Dryden School Special schools
- Eslington Primary School Special schools
- Furrowfield School Special schools
- Gibside School Special schools
- Haskel School Special schools
- River Tyne Academy Gateshead Academies
- The Cedars Academy Academies
- Bensham Grove Nursery School Nursery
- Bede Community Primary School Primary
- Bill Quay Primary School Primary
- Brandling Primary School Primary
- Brighton Avenue Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Hill Top School teach?
- Hill Top School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Gateshead.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Hill Top School?
- The executive headteacher of Hill Top School is Ms Anita Bell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hill Top School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hill Top 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 Hill Top School?
- Hill Top School has 127 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Hill Top School full?
- Hill Top School has capacity for 120 pupils and 127 on roll (106%), 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 Hill Top School a faith school?
- No. Hill Top School has no designated religious character.
- Is Hill Top School part of an academy trust?
- Hill Top School is part of the Dryden & Hill Top Learning Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Hill Top School have?
- The schools register lists Hill Top School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Hill Top School's absence rate?
- Hill Top School's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hill Top School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hill Top 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.