Seaham High School
Station Road, Seaham, SR7 0BH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EDEN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Geoffrey Lumsdon
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Eden Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Easington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,095
- URN
- 147711
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915161600
About this school
Seaham High School is a secondary academy in Seaham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,095 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. 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 220 | 200 | 219 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.8 | 43.0 | 45.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.45 to -0.07 | -0.43 -0.63 to -0.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 36% | 40.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 57% | 58.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32% | 42% | 39.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
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 Seaham 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 | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.8 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.8 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,158 |
| 2023/24 | 1,122 |
| 2024/25 | 1,123 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Seaham High School compares
Seaham High School ranked 16th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.8 | 8.6% | 42.1% | 1,095 | — |
| Venerable Bede Church of England Academy | 44.1 | 12.7% | 32.3% | 738 | 2.6 miles |
| Farringdon Community Academy | 44.6 | 11.6% | 45.2% | 712 | 3.4 miles |
| Southmoor Academy | 49 | 8.2% | 33.3% | 1,398 | 3.5 miles |
| St Aidan's Catholic Academy | 51.2 | 6.1% | 19.5% | 1,057 | 3.8 miles |
| Easington Academy | 51.8 | 9.6% | 36.9% | 769 | 4.1 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)
- 42.12%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- Overall absence
- 8.57%
- Persistent absence
- 24.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Venerable Bede Church of England Academy2.6 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Farringdon Community Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Southmoor Academy3.5 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
St Aidan's Catholic Academy3.8 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Easington Academy4.1 miles
Secondary · Peterlee
Other schools in Seaham
- Seaham Harbour Nursery School Nursery
- New Seaham Academy Primary
- Ribbon School Primary
- Ropery Walk Primary School Primary
- Seaham Trinity Primary School Primary
- Seaview Primary School Primary
- St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Seaham Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Murton Primary
- St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Westlea Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Seaham High School teach?
- Seaham High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Seaham.
- Who is the headteacher of Seaham High School?
- The headteacher of Seaham High School is Mr Geoffrey Lumsdon, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Seaham High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Seaham 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 big is Seaham High School?
- Seaham High School has 1,095 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Seaham High School full?
- Seaham High School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,095 on roll (91%), 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 Seaham High School a faith school?
- No. Seaham High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Seaham High School a selective school?
- No. Seaham High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Seaham High School?
- Seaham High School is part of EDEN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Seaham High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.8 in 2022/23 and 45.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Seaham High School rank locally?
- Seaham High School ranked 16th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Seaham High School's absence rate?
- Seaham High School's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Seaham High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Seaham 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.