High Tunstall College of Science

High Tunstall College of Science is a very inclusive and caring school where pupils feel happy and safe, relationships are positive and pastoral support is strong. Behaviour and personal development are notable strengths: pupils conduct themselves maturely, attendance is high, and they benefit from an extensive range of extra-curricular opportunities, leadership roles, PSHE and careers provision. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified quickly and supported closely, including through the school’s specially resourced provisions. However, the quality of education and leadership and management require improvement. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, but its implementation is inconsistent, teaching does not consistently check understanding or address misconceptions, and some pupils—particularly disadvantaged pupils—do not achieve as well as they should. The reading support programme is in its infancy, and the weakest readers are not identified consistently enough, which limits some pupils’ access to the wider curriculum. This was a graded inspection of a large foundation secondary school, and, as is now standard for graded inspections from September 2024, no overall effectiveness grade was given. The school was previously judged good and has two specially resourced SEND provisions, for pupils with autism and medical and physical disabilities, and for pupils with moderate learning difficulties.

Strengths

• Very inclusive school with strong pastoral care and positive staff-pupil relationships
• Pupils are happy, safe, polite and behave maturely, including at social times
• Personal development programme is very effective and offers extensive opportunities
• Pupils take active leadership roles and help run extra-curricular clubs
• Attendance is high, including for vulnerable pupils
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported closely, including in specialist provisions
• PSHE and careers programmes are carefully planned and help pupils make informed decisions
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Leaders are respected and staff feel supported with well-being and workload
• Governors are skilled and committed to their duties

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent and does not consistently build deep pupil knowledge
• Teaching does not consistently check understanding, correct misconceptions or address learning gaps promptly
• Disadvantaged pupils and some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should
• Reading support is in its infancy and weakest readers are not identified consistently
• Some curriculum planning needs refining where recent changes have been made
• Expectations for teaching and assessment are not applied consistently across subjects
• Variation in pupils’ subject understanding is not always identified or acted upon

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 High Tunstall College of Science attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.8% 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, 6.3% of pupils at High Tunstall College of Science were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 High Tunstall College of Science had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.0% 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, 20.7% of pupils at High Tunstall College of Science were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 60 pupils.

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 High Tunstall College of Science received £8,634 and spent £8,512 for each of its 1,401 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,316,000 (£939 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 Hartlepool · Hartlepool local authority: places and applications

What is High Tunstall College of Science's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for High Tunstall College of Science is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was High Tunstall College of Science last inspected by Ofsted?

High Tunstall College of Science was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does High Tunstall College of Science have?

High Tunstall College of Science has 1,399 pupils on roll.

What age range does High Tunstall College of Science cover?

High Tunstall College of Science for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are High Tunstall College of Science's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.5, and 29% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is High Tunstall College of Science?

High Tunstall College of Science is at Elwick Road, West Park, Hartlepool, TS26 0LQ.