Greenfield Academy

About Greenfield Academy

Greenfield Academy, a mixed state secondary in County Durham for pupils aged 11 to 16, was rated Requires Improvement in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2019, a rating it has held across both its recent inspections. The most telling academic metric is its Progress 8 score of -0.5, which places the school in the bottom 50 nationally and ranks it 28th out of 31 secondary schools in the local authority. This score means that, on average, pupils achieve half a grade less per subject across eight GCSEs than students with similar starting points nationally. The school’s Attainment 8 score sits at 37.7, and just 22.1 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. While the overall picture is challenging, the Ofsted report noted that behaviour and attitudes, as well as personal development, were rated Good, suggesting that the school provides a stable and supportive environment even as academic outcomes lag.

The school’s Progress 8 score of -0.5 is significantly below the County Durham local authority average of -0.21, and it ranks 28th out of 31 secondary schools in the area. Breaking the Progress 8 score down, the weakest areas are English (-0.61), maths (-0.59), and the EBacc subjects (-0.62), while the open element (non-EBacc qualifications) is slightly less negative at -0.27. The EBacc entry rate is 36.8 per cent, with 16.2 per cent of pupils achieving the EBacc at a grade 4 or above. The school’s Progress 8 banding is officially classified as ‘Below average’. For context, the top-performing schools in the local authority include Tanfield School, St Leonard’s Catholic School, and The Academy at Shotton Hall, all of which have positive Progress 8 scores. Greenfield’s results place it in the bottom 17 per cent of schools nationally by this measure.

Greenfield Academy operates well below its capacity of 950, with 643 pupils on roll, and it is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 248 applications for 98 places, with 91 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.53. The school has a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 56.8 per cent, reflecting the challenges of its catchment. Facilities include a theatre, astro turf, sports hall, ICT suite, and art studios, and the school offers a wide range of sports from rowing and martial arts to netball and gymnastics, plus clubs such as coding, gardening, and Young Enterprise. It has a dedicated Sixth Form Centre but does not operate a sixth form, so pupils must move on at 16. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. This school will suit families who value a broad extracurricular offer and a supportive pastoral environment, but who are prepared to work with the school to address below-average academic progress.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Greenfield Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents