Ponteland High School
The Crescent, Callerton Lane, Ponteland, NE20 9EG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PELE TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Stefan McElwee
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Hexham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,600
- Pupils on roll
- 1,536
- URN
- 145783
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01661824711
About this school
Ponteland High School is a secondary academy in Ponteland. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,536 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ponteland 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 | 255 | 255 | 245 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.2 | 56.1 | 53.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.18 -0.35 to 0.00 | +0.13 -0.04 to +0.31 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 62% | 55.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 82% | 77.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 66.3% | 53.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 5.2 | 4.8 |
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 Ponteland 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 | 50.2 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.1 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53 | 35.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,584 |
| 2023/24 | 1,548 |
| 2024/25 | 1,543 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ponteland High School compares
Ponteland High School ranked 1st of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53 | 6.5% | 12.7% | 1,536 | — |
| Callerton Academy | — | 13.5% | 59.7% | 684 | 3.1 miles |
| Walbottle Academy | 46.6 | 12.3% | 48.5% | 1,722 | 3.2 miles |
| Studio West | 30.9 | 13% | 63.2% | 496 | 3.8 miles |
| Kenton School | 38.7 | 12.9% | 64.2% | 1,589 | 4.4 miles |
| North Gosforth Academy | 43.9 | 8.6% | 38.6% | 576 | 5.0 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)
- 12.65%
- English as an additional language
- 3.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.47%
- Persistent absence
- 14.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Callerton Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Walbottle Academy3.2 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Studio West3.8 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Kenton School4.4 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
North Gosforth Academy5.0 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Common questions
- What ages does Ponteland High School teach?
- Ponteland High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ponteland.
- Who is the headteacher of Ponteland High School?
- The headteacher of Ponteland High School is Mr Stefan McElwee, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ponteland High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ponteland 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 Ponteland High School?
- Ponteland High School has 1,536 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ponteland High School full?
- Ponteland High School has capacity for 1,600 pupils and 1,536 on roll (96%), 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 Ponteland High School a faith school?
- No. Ponteland High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Ponteland High School a selective school?
- No. Ponteland High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ponteland High School part of an academy trust?
- Ponteland High School is part of PELE TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ponteland High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.2 in 2022/23 and 53 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ponteland High School compare with other schools in Northumberland?
- Ponteland High School ranked 1st of 16 secondary schools in Northumberland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ponteland High School's absence rate?
- Ponteland High School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ponteland High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ponteland 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 10 July 2026.