A young person’s secondary school years, and the qualifications they earn there, can be life changing.
Secondary schools guide teens through their GCSEs and perhaps even their A Levels. What they learn there will help pave the way and open doors for what comes next, no matter which direction their life might take. But from the time they leave primary school, there’s a lot of growth and learning that needs to happen before they are exam ready.
We’ve created a league table ranking state-funded secondary schools from across Tyne and Wear, including the North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Newcastle, Sunderland, and Gateshead council areas. It is based on their most recently-available ‘Progress 8’ scores (currently for the 2022/23 academic year, until this year’s figures are finalised and published in December or January). This is a unique figure based on GCSE results and other student achievements that measures how quickly a school’s pupils are learning and progressing, compared to peers from similar primary schools nationwide.
Any score above 0 is positive, but we’ve selected only schools with scores of 0.10 and higher - some of the county’s very highest performers. All schools on the list also had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was dropped in September. - or for those inspected since, were found to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ across all other measures. This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding were all found to either meet or exceed government standards.
Here were the 13 top performers from across the Tyne and Wear county:
1. Cardinal Hume Catholic School
At the top of the list is Cardinal Hulme, a Catholic secondary school and sixth form in Gateshead. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, it had an excellent Progress 8 score of 0.60 - considered ‘well above average’. | Google
2. Whitley Bay High School
This is a large high school for pupils aged 13 and up in the seaside town of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted, and has a roll size of nearly 1,700. In the 2022/23 school year, it had a high Progress 8 score of 0.50. Banding is not applied because pupils begin after the age of 11, but this would usually land it in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google
3. St Mary's Catholic School
St Mary’s is a Catholic secondary school and sixth form in Newcastle, formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, it had a great Progress 8 score of 0.47 - considered ‘above average’. | Google
4. Gosforth Academy
Gosforth is a high school, taking pupils from the age of 13, in Newcastle, formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2022/23 school year, it had a good Progress 8 score of 0.44. Banding is not applied because pupils begin after the age of 11, but this would usually land it in the ‘above average’ band. | Google