Grace College
Saltwell Road South, Gateshead, NE9 6LE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EMMANUEL SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachael Hooker
- Sponsor
- Emmanuel Schools Foundation
- Constituency
- Gateshead Central and Whickham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,432
- Pupils on roll
- 1,125
- URN
- 147178
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01914422000
About this school
Grace College is a secondary academy in Gateshead. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,125 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Grace College, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 212 | 210 | 210 |
| Attainment 8 score | 37.7 | 35.4 | 42.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.88 -1.08 to -0.69 | -1.07 -1.26 to -0.88 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 24% | 31.9% | 41% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 49% | 50% | 60.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 52.4% | 56.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
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 Grace College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Gateshead average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 37.7 | 35.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 35.4 | 39.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.9 | 36.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 17.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 16.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,231 |
| 2023/24 | 1,190 |
| 2024/25 | 1,146 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Grace College compares
Grace College ranked 6th of 8 secondary schools in Gateshead for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.9 | 16.8% | 41.5% | 1,125 | — |
| Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead | 53.2 | 6.6% | 24.2% | 1,505 | 1.4 miles |
| XP Gateshead | — | 8.9% | 38.9% | 245 | 2.0 miles |
| Kingsmeadow Community School | 42.9 | 9.5% | 49.4% | 868 | 2.4 miles |
| Heworth Grange School | 36.4 | 13.8% | 53% | 910 | 2.5 miles |
| North East Futures UTC | 35.4 | 15.6% | 54.3% | 314 | 2.6 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report24 March 2026
- 3 July 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 41.52%
- English as an additional language
- 12.3%
- Overall absence
- 16.8%
- Persistent absence
- 41.91%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead1.4 miles
Secondary · Gateshead
-
XP Gateshead2.0 miles
Secondary · Felling
-
Kingsmeadow Community School2.4 miles
Secondary · Gateshead
-
Heworth Grange School2.5 miles
Secondary · Gateshead
-
North East Futures UTC2.6 miles
Secondary · Newcastle Upon Tyne
Other schools in Gateshead
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead Secondary
- Heworth Grange School Secondary
- Kingsmeadow Community School Secondary
- Bensham Grove Nursery School Nursery
- Bede Community Primary School Primary
- Bill Quay Primary School Primary
- Brandling Primary School Primary
- Brighton Avenue Primary School Primary
- Caedmon Community Primary School Primary
- Carr Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Gateshead Primary
- Dunston Hill Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Grace College teach?
- Grace College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Gateshead.
- Who is the headteacher of Grace College?
- The headteacher of Grace College is Mrs Rachael Hooker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Grace College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Grace College, 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 Grace College?
- Grace College has 1,125 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Grace College full?
- Grace College has capacity for 1,432 pupils and 1,125 on roll (79%), 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 Grace College a faith school?
- No. Grace College has no designated religious character.
- Is Grace College part of an academy trust?
- Grace College is part of EMMANUEL SCHOOLS FOUNDATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Grace College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 37.7 in 2022/23 and 42.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Grace College compare with other schools in Gateshead?
- Grace College ranked 6th of 8 secondary schools in Gateshead for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Grace College's absence rate?
- Grace College's overall absence rate is 16.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Grace College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Grace College'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 15 July 2026.