Dene Academy
Manor Way, Peterlee, SR8 5RL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Head Teacher
- Mr David Nelson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Advance Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Easington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 818
- Pupils on roll
- 638
- URN
- 147122
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915546000
About this school
Dene Academy is a secondary academy in Peterlee. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 638 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 124 | 130 | 96 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.8 | 40.2 | 41.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.29 -0.54 to -0.04 | +0.33 +0.08 to +0.58 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 25% | 29.2% | 33.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 43% | 56.2% | 52.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 30% | 28.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 Dene 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 | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39.8 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.2 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.4 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 621 |
| 2023/24 | 635 |
| 2024/25 | 641 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dene Academy compares
Dene Academy ranked 25th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.4 | 10.3% | 61.2% | 638 | — |
| St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College | 44.5 | 9.5% | 36.2% | 891 | 1.2 miles |
| The Academy at Shotton Hall | 52.2 | 7.6% | 32.2% | 1,202 | 1.5 miles |
| Easington Academy | 51.8 | 9.6% | 36.9% | 769 | 2.1 miles |
| Wellfield School | 47.8 | 9.8% | 42% | 862 | 3.0 miles |
| St Hild's Church of England School | 34 | 13.7% | 54.5% | 581 | 4.8 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)
- 61.15%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 10.31%
- Persistent absence
- 29.94%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College1.2 miles
Secondary · Peterlee
-
The Academy at Shotton Hall1.5 miles
Secondary · Peterlee
-
Easington Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Peterlee
-
Wellfield School3.0 miles
Secondary · Wingate
-
St Hild's Church of England School4.8 miles
Secondary · Hartlepool
Other schools in Peterlee
- Easington Academy Secondary
- St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College Secondary
- The Academy at Shotton Hall Secondary
- Horden Nursery School Nursery
- Rosemary Lane Nursery School Nursery
- Acre Rigg Academy Primary
- Acre Rigg Infant School Primary
- Cotsford Primary School Primary
- Dene House Primary School Primary
- Easington CofE Primary School Primary
- Easington Colliery Primary School Primary
- Howletch Lane Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Dene Academy teach?
- Dene Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Peterlee.
- Who is the head teacher of Dene Academy?
- The head teacher of Dene Academy is Mr David Nelson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Dene Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dene 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 big is Dene Academy?
- Dene Academy has 638 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Dene Academy full?
- Dene Academy has capacity for 818 pupils and 638 on roll (78%), 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 Dene Academy a faith school?
- No. Dene Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Dene Academy a selective school?
- No. Dene Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Dene Academy?
- Dene Academy is part of ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Dene Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39.8 in 2022/23 and 41.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dene Academy rank locally?
- Dene Academy ranked 25th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dene Academy's absence rate?
- Dene Academy's overall absence rate is 10.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dene Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dene 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.