North Shore Academy

North Shore Academy is a strong school overall. Inspectors found that pupils achieve well, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and that reading is a particular strength. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully sequenced, teaching is effective, and inclusion is a defining feature: staff identify needs early, provide well-planned support and use the bridge provision to help pupils feel they belong. Leadership and governance are effective, staff development is high quality, and safeguarding standards are met. Pupils behave well, feel safe and benefit from a wide personal-development offer, careers education and enrichment. Attendance is the main area for improvement. Although leaders understand attendance patterns and attendance is improving, overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages, and improvement is not yet rapid or consistent across all groups. The report's next step is to build on current strategies so attendance improves quickly for all pupils and groups. Destinations after 16 are also below national averages, although the narrative says pupils are well prepared for their next steps. The school is part of Northern Education Trust and has had significant change since its last inspection, with the current principal appointed in June 2025. It serves a disadvantaged community: free school meals are well above average and the location is well above average for deprivation. It also has a resourced provision for pupils with communication and interaction needs and uses alternative provision.

Strengths

• Reading is a clear strength, with a relentless whole-school focus and pupils reading challenging texts.
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, achieve well and produce high-quality work.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully sequenced across subjects and year groups.
• Teaching is strong, with effective assessment, feedback and recall strategies.
• Inclusion is a standout feature, with early identification, well-planned support and a valued bridge provision.
• Leaders and governors have a precise understanding of strengths and use detailed analysis to drive improvement.
• High-quality, evidence-informed professional development and the trust-wide staff college build expertise.
• Personal development is ambitious, with strong pastoral care, careers education and cultural experiences.
• Behaviour is calm and respectful, and pupils feel safe and valued.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are above national averages in English and maths and Attainment 8.
• Pupils have wide enrichment and extracurricular opportunities through iAspire badges and clubs.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance is not yet consistently good; overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages.
• Improvement in attendance is not yet rapid or consistent across all pupil groups.
• Destinations after 16 are below national averages.

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 North Shore Academy attended 89.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.8% 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, 15.3% of pupils at North Shore Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 10 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 North Shore Academy had 32.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.0% 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, 14.7% of pupils at North Shore Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 2 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 2024–25 North Shore Academy received £8,884 and spent £8,345 for each of its 821 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £852,000 (£1,038 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Northern Education Trust, income was £8,462 and spending £8,166 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stockton-On-Tees · Stockton-on-Tees local authority: places and applications

North Shore Academy is part of Northern Education Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Norton Primary Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• The Oak Tree Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Frederick Nattrass Primary Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• The Grangefield Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Thornaby Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Manor Community Academy Hartlepool
• Dyke House Sports and Technology College Hartlepool
• Freebrough Academy Saltburn-By-The-Sea
• Badger Hill Academy Saltburn-By-The-Sea
• Whitecliffe Academy Saltburn-By-The-Sea

What is North Shore Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for North Shore Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was North Shore Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

North Shore Academy was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does North Shore Academy have?

North Shore Academy has 850 pupils on roll.

What age range does North Shore Academy cover?

North Shore Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are North Shore Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.9, and 48% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is North Shore Academy?

North Shore Academy is at Talbot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, TS20 2AY.