The Academy at Shotton Hall
Passfield Way, Peterlee, SR8 1AU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NORTH EAST LEARNING TRUST
- Executive Principal
- Alexandra Hook
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- North East Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Easington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,202
- URN
- 136451
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915180222
About this school
The Academy at Shotton Hall is a secondary academy in Peterlee. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,202 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. 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 203 | 221 | 194 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.1 | 51.7 | 52.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.69 +0.49 to +0.88 | +0.58 +0.39 to +0.77 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 58% | 50.2% | 52.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 83% | 76% | 77.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 53.4% | 46.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
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 The Academy at Shotton Hall 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 | 56.1 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.7 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.2 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,162 |
| 2023/24 | 1,170 |
| 2024/25 | 1,164 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Academy at Shotton Hall compares
The Academy at Shotton Hall ranked 5th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.2 | 7.6% | 32.2% | 1,202 | — |
| St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College | 44.5 | 9.5% | 36.2% | 891 | 0.6 miles |
| Dene Academy | 41.4 | 10.3% | 61.2% | 638 | 1.5 miles |
| Wellfield School | 47.8 | 9.8% | 42% | 862 | 1.6 miles |
| Easington Academy | 51.8 | 9.6% | 36.9% | 769 | 2.2 miles |
| St Hild's Church of England School | 34 | 13.7% | 54.5% | 581 | 5.5 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)
- 32.22%
- English as an additional language
- 1.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.58%
- Persistent absence
- 23.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College0.6 miles
Secondary · Peterlee
-
Dene Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Peterlee
-
Wellfield School1.6 miles
Secondary · Wingate
-
Easington Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Peterlee
-
St Hild's Church of England School5.5 miles
Secondary · Hartlepool
Other schools in Peterlee
- Dene Academy Secondary
- Easington Academy Secondary
- St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College Secondary
- Horden Nursery School Nursery
- Rosemary Lane Nursery School Nursery
- Acre Rigg Academy Primary
- Acre Rigg Infant School Primary
- Cotsford Primary School Primary
- Dene House Primary School Primary
- Easington CofE Primary School Primary
- Easington Colliery Primary School Primary
- Howletch Lane Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Academy at Shotton Hall teach?
- The Academy at Shotton Hall teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Peterlee.
- Who is the executive principal of The Academy at Shotton Hall?
- The executive principal of The Academy at Shotton Hall is Alexandra Hook, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Academy at Shotton Hall last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Academy at Shotton Hall, 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 The Academy at Shotton Hall?
- The Academy at Shotton Hall has 1,202 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Academy at Shotton Hall full?
- The Academy at Shotton Hall has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,202 on roll (105%), 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 The Academy at Shotton Hall a faith school?
- No. The Academy at Shotton Hall has no designated religious character.
- Is The Academy at Shotton Hall a selective school?
- No. The Academy at Shotton Hall is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Academy at Shotton Hall?
- The Academy at Shotton Hall is part of NORTH EAST LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Academy at Shotton Hall's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56.1 in 2022/23 and 52.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Academy at Shotton Hall rank locally?
- The Academy at Shotton Hall ranked 5th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Academy at Shotton Hall's absence rate?
- The Academy at Shotton Hall's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Academy at Shotton Hall's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Academy at Shotton Hall'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 1 July 2026.