Outwood Academy Riverside
100 Russell Street, Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- OUTWOOD GRANGE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Melissa Brant-Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Outwood Grange Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 745
- URN
- 147848
- Local authority
- Middlesbrough
- Telephone
- 01642549950
About this school
Outwood Academy Riverside is a secondary academy in Middlesbrough. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 745 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Outwood Academy Riverside, 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 109 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.2 |
| Progress 8 score | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 47.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 |
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 Outwood Academy Riverside has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 448 |
| 2023/24 | 556 |
| 2024/25 | 690 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Outwood Academy Riverside compares
Outwood Academy Riverside ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in Middlesbrough for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.2 | 7.5% | 64.5% | 745 | — |
| Macmillan Academy | 47.8 | 9% | 46.6% | 1,586 | 1.6 miles |
| Lift Unity City | 34.2 | 13.8% | 72.5% | 1,033 | 1.7 miles |
| Trinity Catholic College | 42.6 | 10.1% | 45.1% | 1,270 | 2.1 miles |
| Outwood Academy Acklam | 42.9 | 9.6% | 52.9% | 1,201 | 2.3 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic College | 34.3 | 9% | 55.2% | 572 | 2.3 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)
- 64.49%
- English as an additional language
- 51.2%
- Overall absence
- 7.52%
- Persistent absence
- 23.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Macmillan Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Middlesbrough
-
Lift Unity City1.7 miles
Secondary · Middlesbrough
-
Trinity Catholic College2.1 miles
Secondary · Middlesbrough
-
Outwood Academy Acklam2.3 miles
Secondary · Middlesbrough
-
St Peter's Catholic College2.3 miles
Secondary · Middlesbrough
Other schools in Middlesbrough
Outwood Academy Riverside ranks 4th of the 11 ranked secondary schools in Middlesbrough.
- Acklam Grange School Secondary
- Lift Unity City Secondary
- Macmillan Academy Secondary
- Nunthorpe School & Sixth Form Secondary
- Outwood Academy Acklam Secondary
- Outwood Academy Normanby Secondary
- Outwood Academy Ormesby Secondary
- St Peter's Catholic College Secondary
- The King's Academy Secondary
- Trinity Catholic College Secondary
- Abingdon Primary School Primary
- Acklam Whin Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Outwood Academy Riverside teach?
- Outwood Academy Riverside teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Middlesbrough.
- Who is the headteacher of Outwood Academy Riverside?
- The headteacher of Outwood Academy Riverside is Mrs Melissa Brant-Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Outwood Academy Riverside been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Outwood Academy Riverside, 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 Outwood Academy Riverside?
- Outwood Academy Riverside has 745 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Outwood Academy Riverside full?
- Outwood Academy Riverside has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 745 on roll (71%), 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 Outwood Academy Riverside a faith school?
- No. Outwood Academy Riverside has no designated religious character.
- Is Outwood Academy Riverside a selective school?
- No. Outwood Academy Riverside is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Outwood Academy Riverside part of an academy trust?
- Outwood Academy Riverside is part of OUTWOOD GRANGE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How does Outwood Academy Riverside compare with other schools in Middlesbrough?
- Outwood Academy Riverside ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in Middlesbrough for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Outwood Academy Riverside's absence rate?
- Outwood Academy Riverside's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Outwood Academy Riverside's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Outwood Academy Riverside'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 2 July 2026.