UTC South Durham
Long Tens Way, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, DL5 6AP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- University technical college
- Ages
- 14 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE DURHAM UTC LIMITED
- Principal
- Mr Tom Dower
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 421
- URN
- 142894
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325430250
About this school
UTC South Durham is a secondary school in Newton Aycliffe. It teaches children aged 14 to 19 and has 421 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 143 | 121 | 141 |
| Attainment 8 score | 33.7 | 36.1 | 39.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.20 -1.44 to -0.97 | -0.99 -1.27 to -0.71 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 22% | 19.8% | 29.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 36% | 43.8% | 49.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
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 UTC South Durham 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 | 33.7 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 36.1 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.2 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 429 |
| 2023/24 | 419 |
| 2024/25 | 450 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How UTC South Durham compares
UTC South Durham ranked 28th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% 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 | 39.2 | 9.1% | 34.5% | 421 | — |
| Greenfield Academy | 35.7 | 13.2% | 58% | 566 | 1.9 miles |
| Woodham Academy | 48.2 | 8.1% | 37.8% | 1,071 | 2.2 miles |
| Longfield Academy | 42.8 | 10% | 37.2% | 660 | 3.4 miles |
| Wyvern Academy | 37.7 | 9.4% | 45.7% | 464 | 4.1 miles |
| Haughton Academy | 38 | 9.3% | 44.4% | 854 | 4.3 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)
- 34.54%
- English as an additional language
- 3.1%
- Overall absence
- 9.07%
- Persistent absence
- 31.91%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Greenfield Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Newton Aycliffe
-
Woodham Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Newton Aycliffe
-
Longfield Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Wyvern Academy4.1 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Haughton Academy4.3 miles
Secondary · Darlington
Other schools in Newton Aycliffe
- Greenfield Academy Secondary
- Woodham Academy Secondary
- Aycliffe Village Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Byerley Park Primary School Primary
- Heighington Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Francis Horndale CofE Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Newton Aycliffe Primary
- Stephenson Way Academy and Nursery School Primary
- Sugar Hill Primary School Primary
- Vane Road Primary School Primary
- Woodham Burn Community Primary School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does UTC South Durham teach?
- UTC South Durham teaches children aged 14 to 19. It is a secondary school in Newton Aycliffe.
- Who is the principal of UTC South Durham?
- The principal of UTC South Durham is Mr Tom Dower, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was UTC South Durham last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected UTC South Durham, 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 UTC South Durham?
- UTC South Durham has 421 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 14 to 19.
- Is UTC South Durham full?
- UTC South Durham has capacity for 600 pupils and 421 on roll (70%), so it has space against 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 UTC South Durham a faith school?
- No. UTC South Durham has no designated religious character.
- Is UTC South Durham a selective school?
- No. UTC South Durham is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs UTC South Durham?
- UTC South Durham is part of THE DURHAM UTC LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have UTC South Durham's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 33.7 in 2022/23 and 39.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does UTC South Durham rank locally?
- UTC South Durham ranked 28th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% 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 UTC South Durham's absence rate?
- UTC South Durham's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are UTC South Durham's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, UTC South Durham'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 2 July 2026.