Burnside College

About Burnside College

Burnside College sits in North Tyneside, a secondary school for mixed pupils aged 11 to 18. In the local authority, it ranks 9th out of 11 schools of the same type when measured by Progress 8, placing it in the bottom half of the area. The top-performing peers nearby are Kings Priory School, Marden High School, and Whitley Bay High School, all of which post significantly higher Progress 8 scores. The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, with 290 applications for 199 places and 177 first-preference offers from 178 first-preference applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.46. This suggests a solid local reputation despite the ranking. The school has a sixth form and a capacity of 1,266, currently housing 959 pupils, so there is room to grow. Over a third of pupils are eligible for free school meals, at 37.2 per cent, which is well above the national average and gives context to the school’s intake.

Academically, Burnside’s Progress 8 score is -0.46, which is below the North Tyneside average of -0.06 and places the school in the bottom 50 nationally. The Attainment 8 score sits at 41.5, and 57.2 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though only 31.3 per cent reached grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is high at 62.7 per cent, but the EBacc average point score is 3.72, and just 10.2 per cent achieved grade 5 or above in the EBacc subjects. In the sixth form, the picture is brighter: the school’s value-added score is -0.06, which is banded as Average, and the average points per entry is 35.25, equivalent to a B- grade. The best three A-levels average out at a B- as well. Ofsted rated the school Good overall in its most recent graded inspection in 2020, with an Outstanding sixth form provision. The ungraded inspection in 2024 confirmed that standards are being maintained.

The school offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, astro turf, theatre, and science labs, plus sports such as rowing, gymnastics, and rugby. Clubs include Eco Club, Model UN, and Young Enterprise. Parent View responses from 140 parents are largely positive: 86 per cent would recommend the school, and strong majorities agree that their child is happy, feels safe, and that the school has high expectations. However, the SEND support question is a notable outlier — 39 per cent strongly disagreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, compared with 17 per cent who strongly agreed. The school does list a broad range of SEND provisions, including a resourced provision and support for autistic spectrum disorder. For families considering Burnside, it is a school that serves a high-FSM community, has a popular sixth form, and is oversubscribed, but the academic outcomes are below the local average and SEND satisfaction is a clear area of concern.

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