Ferryhill School

About Ferryhill School

Ferryhill School is a mixed secondary for 11 to 16 year olds in County Durham, and its intake tells a distinct story. The school has capacity for 915 pupils but currently houses 731, meaning it is operating well below its physical limit. That spare capacity is interesting given the demand: for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 194 total applications for 121 places, making it officially oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.6 applicants per place. Of those, 106 were first preference offers, which exactly matched the number of first preference applications — suggesting that every family who put Ferryhill as their top choice secured a spot. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 46.4%, which is notably high compared with the national average for secondary schools (around 24%) and signals that the school serves a significantly disadvantaged catchment. This context matters when interpreting its academic results, as schools with high FSM rates often face additional challenges in driving attainment.

Academically, Ferryhill’s most recent data from the 2023/24 exam cycle shows a Progress 8 score of -0.37, placing it in the ‘Below average’ banding nationally. That means pupils here make less progress between Key Stage 2 and GCSE than the average student in England. The school ranks 25th out of 31 schools in County Durham on this measure, putting it in the bottom 20% of the local authority. For context, the LA average Progress 8 score is -0.21, so Ferryhill sits below that too. The Attainment 8 score is 42.8, and just 47% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths (the basics 94 measure), compared with 28.5% at the higher grade 5+ threshold. EBacc entry is very low at 3.3%, and the EBacc average point score is 3.22. In its most recent graded Ofsted inspection (2014), the school was rated Good overall, with Good leadership and management. A subsequent ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed the school ‘remains Good’.

Ferryhill offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, sports hall, theatre, gymnasium, and playing fields, plus a sixth form centre — though the school itself does not have a sixth form. Sports on offer include netball, tennis, athletics, martial arts, rowing, and hockey, while clubs range from science and book clubs to chess, newspaper, debate, and film club. The school’s SEND provisions are extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate and profound learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health support. For families considering Ferryhill, the key takeaway is that it is a genuinely oversubscribed school serving a high-needs community, with a Good Ofsted rating and a Progress 8 score that reflects the challenges of its intake. It may particularly suit parents who value a broad extracurricular offer and strong SEND support over top-tier academic league table performance.

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