King James I Academy Bishop Auckland
South Church Road, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7JZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EDEN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Whitehead
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Eden Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 956
- Pupils on roll
- 936
- URN
- 136770
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01388603388
About this school
King James I Academy Bishop Auckland is a secondary academy in Bishop Auckland. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 936 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 153 | 149 | 143 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.4 | 41.6 | 43.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.16 -0.38 to +0.07 | -0.21 -0.43 to +0.02 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 28.9% | 28.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 54.4% | 59.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 13.4% | 22.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
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 King James I Academy Bishop Auckland 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 | 45.4 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.6 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.9 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 973 |
| 2023/24 | 962 |
| 2024/25 | 926 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How King James I Academy Bishop Auckland compares
King James I Academy Bishop Auckland ranked 23rd of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.9 | 9.1% | 51.2% | 936 | — |
| Bishop Barrington Academy | 39.4 | 11.3% | 51.7% | 599 | 1.0 miles |
| St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College | 46.4 | 8.5% | 27.1% | 1,229 | 1.1 miles |
| Whitworth Park Academy | 50.4 | 8.9% | 39.3% | 996 | 3.3 miles |
| Parkside Academy | 46.9 | 11.5% | 39.6% | 833 | 3.3 miles |
| Greenfield Academy | 35.7 | 13.2% | 58% | 566 | 4.0 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 51.15%
- English as an additional language
- 2.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.1%
- Persistent absence
- 30.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bishop Barrington Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Bishop Auckland
-
St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College1.1 miles
Secondary · Bishop Auckland
-
Whitworth Park Academy3.3 miles
Secondary · Spennymoor
-
Parkside Academy3.3 miles
Secondary · Crook
-
Greenfield Academy4.0 miles
Secondary · Newton Aycliffe
Other schools in Bishop Auckland
- Bishop Barrington Academy Secondary
- St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College Secondary
- Wolsingham School Secondary
- Aclet Close Nursery School Nursery
- Etherley Lane Nursery School Nursery
- Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law Primary
- Butterknowle Primary School Primary
- Cockfield Primary School Primary
- Cockton Hill Infant School Primary
- Cockton Hill Junior School Primary
- Copeland Road Primary School Primary
- Escomb Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does King James I Academy Bishop Auckland teach?
- King James I Academy Bishop Auckland teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bishop Auckland.
- Who is the headteacher of King James I Academy Bishop Auckland?
- The headteacher of King James I Academy Bishop Auckland is Mr Simon Whitehead, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was King James I Academy Bishop Auckland last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected King James I Academy Bishop Auckland, 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 King James I Academy Bishop Auckland?
- King James I Academy Bishop Auckland has 936 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is King James I Academy Bishop Auckland full?
- King James I Academy Bishop Auckland has capacity for 956 pupils and 936 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 King James I Academy Bishop Auckland a faith school?
- No. King James I Academy Bishop Auckland has no designated religious character.
- Is King James I Academy Bishop Auckland a selective school?
- No. King James I Academy Bishop Auckland is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs King James I Academy Bishop Auckland?
- King James I Academy Bishop Auckland is part of EDEN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does King James I Academy Bishop Auckland have?
- The schools register lists King James I Academy Bishop Auckland's special educational needs provision as: PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have King James I Academy Bishop Auckland's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.4 in 2022/23 and 43.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does King James I Academy Bishop Auckland rank locally?
- King James I Academy Bishop Auckland ranked 23rd of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is King James I Academy Bishop Auckland's absence rate?
- King James I Academy Bishop Auckland's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are King James I Academy Bishop Auckland's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, King James I Academy Bishop Auckland'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.