Emmanuel College

Emmanuel College is a highly successful, inclusive secondary school and sixth form where pupils are happy, safe and achieve very well. Inspectors found outstanding provision across the judged areas, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. The school’s Christian ethos and belief that pupils are ‘infinitely precious’ underpin strong pastoral care, respectful relationships and high expectations. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and enriched, with expert teaching, effective reading support and strong provision for pupils with SEND. Pupils behave exceptionally well, attendance is high, and they benefit from extensive character development, leadership roles, careers guidance and enrichment opportunities. Sixth-form students are excellent role models and are well prepared for their next steps. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was inspected under the framework in which schools are no longer given an overall effectiveness grade. Emmanuel College is a City Technology College and the founding member of the Emmanuel Schools Foundation. Leaders, trustees and governors have sustained high standards over time and responded effectively to local changes, while safeguarding arrangements are effective. No areas for improvement were identified in the report.

Strengths

• Exceptional, ambitious and broad curriculum across academic and vocational subjects, including the sixth form
• Teachers are subject experts who sequence learning carefully and check pupils’ understanding thoroughly
• Highly effective reading support helps pupils catch up quickly, and vocabulary development is impressive
• Strong support for pupils with SEND enables them to produce high-quality work and achieve well
• Pupils behave exceptionally well, attendance is high, and routines create distraction-free learning
• Exemplary character development builds independence, resilience and confidence
• Pupils have extensive enrichment opportunities, including British Sign Language, music, drama, public speaking and additional sixth-form languages
• Careers education and preparation for education, employment or training are exceptionally strong
• Pupils are happy, safe and proud of their achievements in a diverse and tolerant community
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Leaders, trustees and governors sustain high standards and are mindful of staff workload and well-being
• Sixth-form students are highly visible, excellent role models and well prepared for ambitious next steps

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Emmanuel College attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.9% of pupils at Emmanuel College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Emmanuel College had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.3% of pupils at Emmanuel College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Emmanuel College received £7,320 and spent £6,844 for each of its 1,544 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,103,000 (£714 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Gateshead · Gateshead local authority: places and applications

What is Emmanuel College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Emmanuel College is Outstanding, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Emmanuel College last inspected by Ofsted?

Emmanuel College was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Emmanuel College have?

Emmanuel College has 1,564 pupils on roll.

What age range does Emmanuel College cover?

Emmanuel College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Emmanuel College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 59.8, and 74% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Emmanuel College?

Emmanuel College is at Consett Road, Lobley Hill, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE11 0AN.