Walbottle Academy
Hexham Road, Walbottle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE15 9TP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Harrison
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Northern Education Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Hexham
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,885
- Pupils on roll
- 1,722
- URN
- 148135
- Local authority
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01912678221
About this school
Walbottle Academy is a secondary academy in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,722 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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 298 | 298 | 319 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.5 | 40.4 | 46.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.63 -0.80 to -0.46 | -0.69 -0.86 to -0.52 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 44.6% | 57.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 60.4% | 72.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 33% | 36.9% | 41.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
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 Walbottle 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 | Newcastle upon Tyne average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.5 | 38.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.4 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.6 | 38 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,630 |
| 2023/24 | 1,681 |
| 2024/25 | 1,725 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Walbottle Academy compares
Walbottle Academy ranked 6th of 12 secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.6 | 12.3% | 48.5% | 1,722 | — |
| Studio West | 30.9 | 13% | 63.2% | 496 | 1.7 miles |
| Callerton Academy | — | 13.5% | 59.7% | 684 | 2.0 miles |
| Thorp Academy | 47.2 | 10.3% | 25.7% | 1,442 | 2.1 miles |
| St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon | 51.9 | 5.2% | 18.7% | 1,401 | 2.6 miles |
| St Cuthbert's High School | 49 | 8.1% | 40.3% | 1,224 | 2.9 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)
- 48.52%
- English as an additional language
- 16.6%
- Overall absence
- 12.25%
- Persistent absence
- 31.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Studio West1.7 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Callerton Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Thorp Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Ryton
-
St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon2.6 miles
Secondary · Blaydon-on-Tyne
-
St Cuthbert's High School2.9 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Other schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Walbottle Academy ranks 8th of the 15 ranked secondary schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Benfield School Secondary
- Callerton Academy Secondary
- George Stephenson High School Secondary
- Gosforth Academy Secondary
- Jesmond Park Academy Secondary
- Kenton School Secondary
- Longbenton High School Secondary
- North Gosforth Academy Secondary
- Sacred Heart Catholic High School Secondary
- St Cuthbert's High School Secondary
- St Mary's Catholic School Secondary
- Studio West Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Walbottle Academy teach?
- Walbottle Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Who is the headteacher of Walbottle Academy?
- The headteacher of Walbottle Academy is Mr Richard Harrison, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Walbottle Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Walbottle 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 Walbottle Academy?
- Walbottle Academy has 1,722 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Walbottle Academy full?
- Walbottle Academy has capacity for 1,885 pupils and 1,722 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 Walbottle Academy a faith school?
- No. Walbottle Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Walbottle Academy a selective school?
- No. Walbottle Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Walbottle Academy?
- Walbottle Academy is part of NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Walbottle Academy have?
- The schools register lists Walbottle Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Walbottle Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.5 in 2022/23 and 46.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Walbottle Academy rank locally?
- Walbottle Academy ranked 6th of 12 secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Walbottle Academy's absence rate?
- Walbottle Academy's overall absence rate is 12.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Walbottle Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Walbottle 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.