Bedlington Academy
Palace Road, Bedlington, NE22 7DS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NORTH EAST LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Joanna Lamb
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- North East Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Blyth and Ashington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 850
- Pupils on roll
- 822
- URN
- 144977
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01670822625
About this school
Bedlington Academy is a secondary academy in Bedlington. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 822 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bedlington Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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 | 139 | 128 | 141 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.3 | 45.2 | 47.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.22 -0.46 to +0.02 | -0.26 -0.51 to -0.01 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% | 45.3% | 44% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 68.8% | 74.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 37% | 28.9% | 39.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
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 Bedlington Academy 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 | 45.3 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.2 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.4 | 35.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 810 |
| 2023/24 | 809 |
| 2024/25 | 828 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bedlington Academy compares
Bedlington Academy ranked 6th of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.4 | 8.2% | 31.9% | 822 | — |
| The Blyth Academy | 49.2 | 10.4% | 50.4% | 766 | 1.2 miles |
| St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy | 41.3 | 11.1% | 31.1% | 994 | 1.7 miles |
| NCEA Duke's Secondary School | 32 | 13.6% | 49.8% | 980 | 2.7 miles |
| Ashington Academy | 47.1 | 8% | 35.5% | 964 | 2.8 miles |
| Cramlington Learning Village | 46.7 | 9% | 23.7% | 1,989 | 4.4 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)
- 31.85%
- English as an additional language
- 1.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.16%
- Persistent absence
- 23.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Blyth Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Blyth
-
St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Bedlington
-
NCEA Duke's Secondary School2.7 miles
Secondary · Ashington
-
Ashington Academy2.8 miles
Secondary · Ashington
-
Cramlington Learning Village4.4 miles
Secondary · Cramlington
Other schools in Bedlington
- St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy Secondary
- Bedlington Station Primary School Primary
- Bedlington West End Primary School Primary
- Bedlington Whitley Memorial Church of England Primary School Primary
- Meadowdale Academy Primary
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Stead Lane Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Bedlington Academy teach?
- Bedlington Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bedlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Bedlington Academy?
- The headteacher of Bedlington Academy is Mrs Joanna Lamb, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bedlington Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bedlington Academy, 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 Bedlington Academy?
- Bedlington Academy has 822 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Bedlington Academy full?
- Bedlington Academy has capacity for 850 pupils and 822 on roll (97%), 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 Bedlington Academy a faith school?
- No. Bedlington Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Bedlington Academy a selective school?
- No. Bedlington Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Bedlington Academy part of an academy trust?
- Bedlington Academy is part of NORTH EAST LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bedlington Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.3 in 2022/23 and 47.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bedlington Academy compare with other schools in Northumberland?
- Bedlington Academy ranked 6th of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bedlington Academy's absence rate?
- Bedlington Academy's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bedlington Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bedlington Academy'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 10 July 2026.