Callerton Academy

About Callerton Academy

Callerton Academy opened in Newcastle upon Tyne as a new secondary school with a capacity of 1,200, but currently has just 479 pupils on roll, meaning it is still building up its year groups. The school serves a notably high-needs community: 57.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average for secondary schools. Demand is already outstripping supply — for the 2025/26 admissions round, the school received 642 applications for 179 places, an oversubscription ratio of 3.59. Of those, 189 were first-preference applications, and 156 first-preference offers were made. This level of interest suggests the school is quickly establishing itself as a popular choice for local families, despite being relatively new. The school is mixed, non-denominational, and caters for pupils aged 11 to 16, with no sixth form provision.

In its first graded Ofsted inspection in January 2024, Callerton Academy was rated Good overall, with Good across all four categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This is a strong start for a new school. The local authority average Progress 8 score is -0.4, which gives context to the school’s performance — though Callerton’s own Progress 8 data is not yet available, the Good rating suggests pupils are making at least expected progress. The school has no previous inspection to compare against, so this baseline is encouraging. Of the 19 secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne, only two are rated Outstanding, with the nearest being Sacred Heart Catholic High School, 3.7 km away. Callerton’s Good rating places it in a solid middle ground, and its rapid oversubscription indicates parents are confident in its direction under headteacher Katie Innes.

Facilities are generous for a school of this size, including a swimming pool, astro turf, sports hall, music rooms, art studios, and a sixth form centre (though the school itself does not run a sixth form). The school offers a wide range of sports from tennis to rugby, and clubs including orchestra, coding, Duke of Edinburgh, and Young Enterprise. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families in Newcastle looking for a non-faith, mixed secondary with strong facilities and a clear trajectory, Callerton Academy is worth serious consideration — especially given the high demand signal from admissions. Its size means it can still absorb more pupils, but the oversubscription trend suggests that window may not stay open long.

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