The King Edward VI School
Cottingwood Lane, Morpeth, NE61 1DN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 13 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHEVIOT LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Clare Savage
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Cheviot Learning Trust
- Constituency
- North Northumberland
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,506
- Pupils on roll
- 1,426
- URN
- 137746
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01670515415
About this school
The King Edward VI School is a secondary academy in Morpeth. It teaches children aged 13 to 18 and has 1,426 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The King Edward VI 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
- Good
- 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 | 319 | 324 | 337 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.9 | 51.2 | 52.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.16 0.00 to +0.31 | +0.13 -0.02 to +0.29 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 53.1% | 57.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 80% | 74.4% | 78.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 35.5% | 35.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.5 | 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 King Edward VI 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 | Northumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.9 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.2 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.2 | 35.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,426 |
| 2023/24 | 1,373 |
| 2024/25 | 1,340 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The King Edward VI School compares
The King Edward VI School ranked 2nd of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland 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 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.2 | 10.1% | 11.8% | 1,426 | — |
| Ashington Academy | 47.1 | 8% | 35.5% | 964 | 4.5 miles |
| St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy | 41.3 | 11.1% | 31.1% | 994 | 4.5 miles |
| Bedlington Academy | 47.4 | 8.2% | 31.9% | 822 | 5.7 miles |
| NCEA Duke's Secondary School | 32 | 13.6% | 49.8% | 980 | 5.8 miles |
| The Blyth Academy | 49.2 | 10.4% | 50.4% | 766 | 6.7 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)
- 11.76%
- English as an additional language
- 1.5%
- Overall absence
- 10.05%
- Persistent absence
- 22.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ashington Academy4.5 miles
Secondary · Ashington
-
St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy4.5 miles
Secondary · Bedlington
-
Bedlington Academy5.7 miles
Secondary · Bedlington
-
NCEA Duke's Secondary School5.8 miles
Secondary · Ashington
-
The Blyth Academy6.7 miles
Secondary · Blyth
Other schools in Morpeth
- James Calvert Spence College 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 The King Edward VI School teach?
- The King Edward VI School teaches children aged 13 to 18. It is a secondary school in Morpeth.
- Who is the headteacher of The King Edward VI School?
- The headteacher of The King Edward VI School is Ms Clare Savage, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The King Edward VI School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The King Edward VI 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 The King Edward VI School?
- The King Edward VI School has 1,426 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 13 to 18.
- Is The King Edward VI School full?
- The King Edward VI School has capacity for 1,506 pupils and 1,426 on roll (95%), 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 The King Edward VI School a faith school?
- No. The King Edward VI School has no designated religious character.
- Is The King Edward VI School a selective school?
- No. The King Edward VI School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The King Edward VI School part of an academy trust?
- The King Edward VI School is part of CHEVIOT LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The King Edward VI School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.9 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 King Edward VI School compare with other schools in Northumberland?
- The King Edward VI School ranked 2nd of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland 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 8% 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 King Edward VI School's absence rate?
- The King Edward VI School's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The King Edward VI School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The King Edward VI 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 1 July 2026.