Durham Academy
Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, Durham, DH7 7NG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Ms Alison Jobling
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Advance Learning Partnership
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 693
- Pupils on roll
- 405
- URN
- 149251
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913730336
About this school
Durham Academy is a secondary academy in Durham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 405 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Durham Academy, 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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 53 | 50 |
| Attainment 8 score | 36.3 | 37.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.25 -0.64 to +0.13 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 18.9% | 22% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 45.3% | 44% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28.3% | 26% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 3.1 |
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 Durham 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 | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 36.3 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.4 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 361 |
| 2023/24 | 372 |
| 2024/25 | 396 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Durham Academy compares
Durham Academy ranked 29th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% 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 | 37.4 | 12.2% | 62.1% | 405 | — |
| Durham Johnston Comprehensive School | 55.2 | 6.5% | 15.9% | 1,667 | 1.7 miles |
| St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham | 57.7 | 6.5% | 14.3% | 1,293 | 2.0 miles |
| Framwellgate School Durham | 45.2 | 9.2% | 24.6% | 1,204 | 2.4 miles |
| Belmont Community School | 53.4 | 8.1% | 33.5% | 887 | 4.4 miles |
| Hermitage Academy | 49.1 | 7.4% | 31.2% | 881 | 5.1 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report20 January 2026
- 16 March 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 62.12%
- English as an additional language
- 6.8%
- Overall absence
- 12.2%
- Persistent absence
- 34.12%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School1.7 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham2.0 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Framwellgate School Durham2.4 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Belmont Community School4.4 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Hermitage Academy5.1 miles
Secondary · Chester le Street
Other schools in Durham
Durham Academy ranks 6th of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Durham.
- Belmont Community School Secondary
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School Secondary
- Framwellgate School Durham Secondary
- St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester Secondary
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham Secondary
- Langley Moor Nursery School Nursery
- All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester Primary
- Bearpark Primary School Primary
- Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School Primary
- Belmont CofE (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School Primary
- Brandon Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Durham Academy teach?
- Durham Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Durham.
- Who is the headteacher of Durham Academy?
- The headteacher of Durham Academy is Ms Alison Jobling, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Durham Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Durham 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 many pupils are at Durham Academy?
- Durham Academy has 405 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Durham Academy full?
- Durham Academy has capacity for 693 pupils and 405 on roll (58%), 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 Durham Academy a faith school?
- No. Durham Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Durham Academy a selective school?
- No. Durham Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Durham Academy part of an academy trust?
- Durham Academy 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.
- What SEN provision does Durham Academy have?
- The schools register lists Durham Academy's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Durham Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 36.3 in 2023/24 and 37.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Durham Academy compare with other schools in County Durham?
- Durham Academy ranked 29th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% 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 Durham Academy's absence rate?
- Durham Academy's overall absence rate is 12.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Durham Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Durham 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.