Wolsingham School
The Grammar School Building, West End, Bishop Auckland, DL13 3DJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Acting Headteacher
- Mr Nick Mitchinson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Advance Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 774
- URN
- 148109
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01388527302
About this school
Wolsingham School is a secondary academy in Bishop Auckland. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 774 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 17 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 135 | 138 | 130 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.3 | 48.1 | 44.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.18 -0.42 to +0.06 | -0.35 -0.59 to -0.12 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 44% | 46.4% | 38.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 64% | 57.2% | 57.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 18.8% | 22.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 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 Wolsingham 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 | 48.3 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.1 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.7 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 752 |
| 2023/24 | 753 |
| 2024/25 | 743 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wolsingham School compares
Wolsingham School ranked 20th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.7 | 8.8% | 27.7% | 774 | — |
| Parkside Academy | 46.9 | 11.5% | 39.6% | 833 | 8.3 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester | 44.9 | 8.6% | 19.7% | 1,240 | 9.0 miles |
| Consett Academy | 44.2 | 8.5% | 35.6% | 1,493 | 9.2 miles |
| Bishop Barrington Academy | 39.4 | 11.3% | 51.7% | 599 | 9.8 miles |
| St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College | 46.4 | 8.5% | 27.1% | 1,229 | 9.8 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)
- 27.73%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.83%
- Persistent absence
- 25.77%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Parkside Academy8.3 miles
Secondary · Crook
-
St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester9.0 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Consett Academy9.2 miles
Secondary · Consett
-
Bishop Barrington Academy9.8 miles
Secondary · Bishop Auckland
-
St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College9.8 miles
Secondary · Bishop Auckland
Other schools in Bishop Auckland
- Bishop Barrington Academy Secondary
- King James I Academy Bishop Auckland Secondary
- St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College Secondary
- Aclet Close Nursery School Nursery
- Etherley Lane Nursery School Nursery
- Blessed John Duckett Catholic Primary School, Tow Law Primary
- Butterknowle Primary School Primary
- Cockfield Primary School Primary
- Cockton Hill Infant School Primary
- Cockton Hill Junior School Primary
- Copeland Road Primary School Primary
- Escomb Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Wolsingham School teach?
- Wolsingham School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bishop Auckland.
- Who is the acting headteacher of Wolsingham School?
- The acting headteacher of Wolsingham School is Mr Nick Mitchinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Wolsingham School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wolsingham 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 Wolsingham School?
- Wolsingham School has 774 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Wolsingham School full?
- Wolsingham School has capacity for 750 pupils and 774 on roll (103%), so it is at or above 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 Wolsingham School a faith school?
- No. Wolsingham School has no designated religious character.
- Is Wolsingham School a selective school?
- No. Wolsingham School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Wolsingham School?
- Wolsingham School 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 Wolsingham School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.3 in 2022/23 and 44.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wolsingham School rank locally?
- Wolsingham School ranked 20th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wolsingham School's absence rate?
- Wolsingham School's overall absence rate is 8.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wolsingham School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wolsingham 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.