Queen Elizabeth High School
Whetstone Bridge Road, Hexham, NE46 3JB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 13 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HADRIAN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Graeme Atkins
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Hexham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,308
- Pupils on roll
- 1,299
- URN
- 143291
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01434610300
About this school
Queen Elizabeth High School is a secondary academy in Hexham. It teaches children aged 13 to 18 and has 1,299 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Queen Elizabeth High 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
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 | 309 | 307 | 301 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.7 | 54.3 | 50.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.21 +0.05 to +0.37 | +0.27 +0.11 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 61.9% | 52.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 80.5% | 69.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 27.7% | 63.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
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 Queen Elizabeth High 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 | 52.7 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.3 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.7 | 35.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 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 | 1,298 |
| 2023/24 | 1,287 |
| 2024/25 | 1,304 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Queen Elizabeth High School compares
Queen Elizabeth High School ranked 3rd of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% 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 | 50.7 | 9.1% | 14.2% | 1,299 | — |
| Haydon Bridge High School | 35.1 | 12.6% | 31.9% | 392 | 5.4 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Middle School, Hexham | — | 4.9% | 26.3% | 168 | 0.1 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic First School, Hexham | — | 3.7% | 18.5% | 81 | 0.5 miles |
| The Sele First School | — | 5% | 13.5% | 390 | 0.5 miles |
| Hexham Middle School | — | 5.2% | 14.9% | 619 | 0.7 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)
- 14.15%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.07%
- Persistent absence
- 25.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Haydon Bridge High School5.4 miles
Secondary · Hexham
-
St Joseph's Catholic Middle School, Hexham0.1 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Hexham
-
St Mary's Catholic First School, Hexham0.5 miles
Primary · Hexham
-
The Sele First School0.5 miles
Primary · Hexham
-
Hexham Middle School0.7 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Hexham
Other schools in Hexham
- Haydon Bridge High School Secondary
- Acomb First School Primary
- Beaufront First School Primary
- Bellingham Primary School Primary
- Chollerton Church of England Aided First School Primary
- Greenhaugh Primary School Primary
- Henshaw Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hexham First School Primary
- Humshaugh Church of England First School Primary
- Kielder Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Newbrough Church of England Primary School Primary
- Shaftoe Trust Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Queen Elizabeth High School teach?
- Queen Elizabeth High School teaches children aged 13 to 18. It is a secondary school in Hexham.
- Who is the headteacher of Queen Elizabeth High School?
- The headteacher of Queen Elizabeth High School is Mr Graeme Atkins, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Queen Elizabeth High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Queen Elizabeth High 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 Queen Elizabeth High School?
- Queen Elizabeth High School has 1,299 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 13 to 18.
- Is Queen Elizabeth High School full?
- Queen Elizabeth High School has capacity for 1,308 pupils and 1,299 on roll (99%), 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 Queen Elizabeth High School a faith school?
- No. Queen Elizabeth High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Queen Elizabeth High School a selective school?
- No. Queen Elizabeth High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Queen Elizabeth High School part of an academy trust?
- Queen Elizabeth High School is part of HADRIAN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Queen Elizabeth High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.7 in 2022/23 and 50.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Queen Elizabeth High School compare with other schools in Northumberland?
- Queen Elizabeth High School ranked 3rd of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% 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 Queen Elizabeth High School's absence rate?
- Queen Elizabeth High School's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Queen Elizabeth High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Queen Elizabeth High 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 8 July 2026.