Mortimer Community College

Mortimer Community College is a welcoming, inclusive 11–16 community school where pupils speak highly of the pastoral support and positive relationships with staff. Behaviour and personal development are strengths: pupils behave well, respect one another, take part in enrichment, charity and community work, and receive strong careers guidance. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. However, these positive experiences are not matched by academic outcomes. In several subjects pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve less well than peers nationally and are not as well prepared for their next steps. The quality of education and leadership and management require improvement. Curriculum content is carefully planned and sequenced in places, and lesson structure and questioning have improved, but assessment and checking of pupils’ knowledge are inconsistent, gaps are not addressed, and activities do not always meet pupils’ needs. Literacy support, especially for early reading and vocabulary, is underdeveloped; some staff do not adapt lessons well for pupils with SEND; and persistent absence remains too high with no consistent approach to catching up missed learning. Leaders’ improvement plans lack precision, and governors are not well informed enough about the quality of education to challenge and support improvement effectively. Staff value professional development and early career support. This was a graded inspection; the school was previously judged good in 2019, and no overall effectiveness grade is given under current arrangements.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive school culture
• High-quality pastoral care and support for pupils
• Pupils behave well and build positive relationships with staff
• A culture of mutual respect across the school
• Strong range of enrichment, educational visits and community/charity work
• Carefully considered curriculum content with clear sequencing in places
• Effective careers programme with independent advice and visiting speakers
• Pupils understand how to stay healthy and safe and value mental health and resilience
• Staff value professional development and well-tailored support for early career teachers
• Governing body is passionate about the school and funds experiences for vulnerable pupils
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve less well than peers nationally in several subjects
• Pupils are not consistently well prepared for their next stage of education, employment or training
• Staff do not consistently check pupils’ knowledge and adapt lessons to address gaps
• Activity choices in some lessons do not meet pupils’ needs well
• Literacy strategies are not consistently used and early reading support is underdeveloped
• Important vocabulary is not consistently emphasised or understood
• Some staff do not adapt lessons well for pupils with SEND
• Persistent absence has not improved significantly and missed learning is not consistently remedied
• School improvement plans lack precision and some priorities remain unaddressed
• Governors are not well informed about the quality of education and have not effectively challenged and supported improvement

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 Mortimer Community College attended 88.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.6% 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, 13.4% of pupils at Mortimer Community College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 9 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 Mortimer Community College had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% 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, 20.2% of pupils at Mortimer Community College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.4% 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 2025–26 Mortimer Community College received £8,905 and spent £9,016 for each of its 1,140 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £361,000 (£317 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in South Shields · South Tyneside local authority: places and applications

What is Mortimer Community College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mortimer Community College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Mortimer Community College last inspected by Ofsted?

Mortimer Community College was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Mortimer Community College have?

Mortimer Community College has 1,139 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mortimer Community College cover?

Mortimer Community College for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Mortimer Community College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.7, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Mortimer Community College?

Mortimer Community College is at Reading Road, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE33 4UG.