Kenton School

About Kenton School

Kenton School is a large mixed secondary and sixth form in Newcastle upon Tyne, serving 1,713 pupils aged 11 to 18. It sits within a local authority that has two schools rated Outstanding, including Sacred Heart Catholic High School just 2.4 kilometres away. Among the 11 state secondaries in Newcastle, Kenton ranks 7th by Progress 8, placing it in the bottom half of the LA table. The top-performing peers locally are Gosforth Junior High Academy, St Mary's Catholic School, and Sacred Heart Catholic High School, all of which post positive Progress 8 scores. Kenton’s most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2025 judged the school as Requires Improvement overall, with leadership and management, behaviour and attitudes, and quality of education all rated Requires Improvement. However, the sixth-form provision and personal development were both rated Good, suggesting pockets of strength. The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, receiving 462 applications for 286 places, with 174 first-preference offers made.

Academically, Kenton’s Progress 8 score of -0.85 is well below average and significantly worse than the Newcastle LA average of -0.4. The Attainment 8 score sits at 37, and just 29.2% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. The EBacc entry rate is low at 21.5%, and only 6.4% of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 5 or above. In the sixth form, the picture is mixed: the value added score is -0.35, placing progress in the below average band, and the average points per entry is 27.06, equivalent to a C- grade. The best three A-levels average out at a D+. With 79 pupils in the sixth form cohort, it is a relatively small provision within a large school. The school’s national ranking by Progress 8 is 2,958 out of 3,141, placing it in the bottom 5% of schools nationally.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a theatre, astro turf, sports hall, and a sixth form centre. Sports on offer include football, rugby, netball, gymnastics, and martial arts, while clubs range from chess and drama to Model UN and Young Enterprise. Kenton has an extensive SEND offer, with provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a SEN unit and resourced provision. Parent View responses from 11 respondents paint a challenging picture: 64% would not recommend the school, and only 36% would. Strong disagreement was high across most questions, particularly around happiness, safety, behaviour, and how concerns are handled. This is a school that may suit families who value its wide SEND support and sixth form options, but who are prepared for significant ongoing challenges in behaviour and leadership.

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