Norham High School

About Norham High School

Norham High School is a mixed, non-denominational state secondary in North Tyneside for pupils aged 11 to 16, with no sixth form. It currently has 456 pupils against a capacity of 520, leaving some headroom for growth. The school serves a community with significant economic disadvantage: 63.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average and a clear indicator of the challenges many families face. Demand is strong, however. For the 2025/26 admissions cycle, the school received 211 applications for 87 places, with 138 of those as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.43. That level of interest suggests local parents see real value here, despite the intake profile. The headteacher is Terence Richard Conway, who has overseen a notable turnaround since the school’s previous Ofsted inspection in 2018, when it was rated Inadequate. In March 2022, inspectors judged it Good across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Academically, Norham delivers solid results for its context. Its Progress 8 score of +0.2 is above the North Tyneside local authority average of -0.06, meaning pupils here make more progress than peers in similar schools across the borough. That score places the school 5th out of 11 secondaries in the LA, and 29th out of 142 in the North East region. Nationally, it sits in the top 35% of schools by this measure. Attainment 8 sits at 40.2, and 47.1% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths (the basics measure). The EBacc entry rate is low at 8.6%, and only 7.1% achieved the full EBacc at grade 5 or above, reflecting a curriculum that prioritises breadth over the full EBacc suite. Progress in maths is exactly in line with the national average (0.0), while English progress is slightly negative at -0.1. The open element of Progress 8, which covers other GCSE subjects, is notably strong at +0.48, suggesting pupils perform particularly well in options outside the core.

The school offers a practical range of facilities including a library, science labs, sports hall, astro turf, tennis courts, gymnasium and playing fields, with sports on offer including football, rugby, cricket, rowing and cross country. Clubs such as Science Club, Debate, Choir, Young Enterprise, Model UN and Drama give pupils plenty of enrichment opportunities. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and a resourced provision. This is a school that has clearly worked hard to improve its reputation and outcomes, and the oversubscription figures suggest it is now a popular choice for local families, particularly those who want a genuinely inclusive, community-focused secondary that supports pupils from a wide range of starting points.

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