More than 25 thousand pupils across the North East are readying themselves for the leap from primary to secondary school - taking the next big step on their educational journey.
Schoolchildren are now in the final weeks of the summer holidays, with the new, 2025/25 school year set to begin around the start of September for most. Among them will be this thousands-strong cohort of recent primary school leavers, transitioning to a whole new world of class timetables and important qualifications.
To mark the occasion, we’re revisiting the North East’s highest performing state-funded secondary schools, looking at the top schools in each council area from Northumberland to Redcar and Cleveland, using our unique ‘gold standard’ for schools. The key figure this draws on is each school’s Progress 8 score, based on the most recently-available exam data (currently for 2023/24).
These scores are an official metric determined from GCSEs and other qualifications, which shows how quickly pupils progressed compared to peers from similar primary schools. Any score above a 0 is positive, but we’ve only included schools with a score above 0.2 - generally considered ‘above average’. It is worth noting that this performance data has now been finalised, so results and placings may differ slightly from earlier reports based on interim results.
We’ve also made sure each school featured had positive ratings in their latest Ofsted inspections. These inspections are going through some changes, but we’ve only included those with a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ overall grade under the previous system, or positive ratings across all categories under the current one. This means that quality of education, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and safeguarding practices all met or exceeded Government standards.
Here are the 26 schools from across the North East that really shone:
21. Freebrough Academy
This is a secondary academy in Brotton, in the Redcar and Cleveland district. It was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an ‘above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.28. | Google
22. Queen Elizabeth High School
This is a secondary academy and sixth form in Hexham, Northumberland, that takes pupils from the age of 13. It was most recently rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had a Progress 8 score of 0.27 – although banding was not applied as the school takes pupils part way through the 5 year period covered by the score. | Google
23. Teesdale School and Sixth Form
This is a secondary academy and sixth form in Barnard Castle, County Durham. It was most recently rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it also had an ‘above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.27. | Google
24. Whickham School
This is a secondary academy and sixth form in Whickham, in the Gateshead borough. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘good’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an ‘above average’ Progress 8 score of 0.26. | Google