Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead
Old Durham Road, Beacon Lough, Gateshead, NE9 6RZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr B Robson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Gateshead Central and Whickham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,465
- Pupils on roll
- 1,505
- URN
- 137852
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01914877638
About this school
Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Gateshead. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,505 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
- 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 | 240 | 246 | 249 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.2 | 54.4 | 53.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.60 +0.42 to +0.78 | +0.71 +0.53 to +0.89 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 65% | 59.8% | 55.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 83% | 84.6% | 75.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 70% | 68.7% | 69.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
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 Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Gateshead average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56.2 | 35.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.4 | 39.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.2 | 36.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,509 |
| 2023/24 | 1,530 |
| 2024/25 | 1,496 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead compares
Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead ranked 1st of 8 secondary schools in Gateshead for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.2 | 6.6% | 24.2% | 1,505 | — |
| XP Gateshead | — | 8.9% | 38.9% | 245 | 0.7 miles |
| Heworth Grange School | 36.4 | 13.8% | 53% | 910 | 1.2 miles |
| Grace College | 42.9 | 16.8% | 41.5% | 1,125 | 1.4 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Academy | 45.5 | 9.3% | 23.4% | 1,377 | 2.7 miles |
| North East Futures UTC | 35.4 | 15.6% | 54.3% | 314 | 2.7 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)
- 24.15%
- English as an additional language
- 15.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.56%
- Persistent absence
- 15.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
XP Gateshead0.7 miles
Secondary · Felling
-
Heworth Grange School1.2 miles
Secondary · Gateshead
-
Grace College1.4 miles
Secondary · Gateshead
-
St Joseph's Catholic Academy2.7 miles
Secondary · Hebburn
-
North East Futures UTC2.7 miles
Secondary · Newcastle Upon Tyne
Other schools in Gateshead
- Grace College Secondary
- Heworth Grange School Secondary
- Kingsmeadow Community School Secondary
- Bensham Grove Nursery School Nursery
- Bede Community Primary School Primary
- Bill Quay Primary School Primary
- Brandling Primary School Primary
- Brighton Avenue Primary School Primary
- Caedmon Community Primary School Primary
- Carr Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead Primary
- Dunston Hill Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead teach?
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Gateshead.
- Who is the headteacher of Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead?
- The headteacher of Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead is Mr B Robson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead, 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 Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead?
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead has 1,505 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead full?
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead has capacity for 1,465 pupils and 1,505 on roll (103%), 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 Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead a faith school?
- Yes. Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Is Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead a selective school?
- No. Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead?
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead is part of BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56.2 in 2022/23 and 53.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead rank locally?
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead ranked 1st of 8 secondary schools in Gateshead for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead's absence rate?
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead'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.