Walbottle Academy

About Walbottle Academy

Walbottle Academy is a large mixed secondary school and sixth form in Newcastle upon Tyne, serving 1,725 pupils aged 11 to 18. Within the local authority, it sits sixth out of eleven secondary schools when ranked by Progress 8, placing it in the middle of the pack. The top-performing peers in the area — Gosforth Junior High Academy, St Mary's Catholic School and Sacred Heart Catholic High School — all post significantly higher Progress 8 scores, so families comparing schools will find Walbottle positioned below those selective and faith-based options. The school is state-funded and non-religious, with a headteacher, Richard Harrison, at the helm. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 rated it Good across every category, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. That marks a notable turnaround from its previous inspection in 2019, when the school was judged Inadequate overall. The improvement in just four years is a clear signal of effective leadership and a strengthened culture.

Academically, the school's headline Progress 8 score of -0.69 is well below the national average and also trails the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority average of -0.4. That means pupils typically achieve nearly three-quarters of a grade less per subject than their peers nationally, with the weakest progress seen in open subjects and the strongest — relatively speaking — in English, where the score is -0.26. At GCSE, 44.6% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, and the average Attainment 8 score sits at 40.4. The EBacc entry rate is 36.9%, with 14.1% achieving the full EBacc at grade 5 or above. In the sixth form, the picture is similar: a value-added score of -0.58 places progress below average, and the average points per entry grade is a C. Only 10% of entries achieved AAB or higher at A-level, and the best three A-levels averaged a C grade. The sixth form is small, with 48 pupils in the data.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 615 applications for 330 places, with 308 first-preference applications and 296 first-preference offers. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 1.86, so competition for places is real. Facilities are strong for a state school, including a swimming pool, theatre, sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields and a dedicated sixth form centre. There is a wide range of sports on offer, from rowing and martial arts to rugby and netball, plus clubs including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Young Enterprise, orchestra and debate. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities, with a resourced provision on site. With 46.9% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage. This is a school that has turned itself around and is now in demand, but families should weigh the improving Ofsted rating against the below-average exam outcomes when deciding if it matches their child's needs.

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