Framwellgate School Durham

Framwellgate School Durham is a mixed secondary and sixth-form academy converter in The Excel Academy Partnership Trust. Inspectors found much to praise in pupils’ behaviour and personal development: pupils are polite, compassionate and tolerant, pastoral care and safeguarding are strong, and the school provides a well-designed PSHE programme, a broad extra-curricular offer and effective careers guidance. The sixth form is a particular strength, with students achieving well, studying independently and acting as positive role models. Staff also report strong support from leaders, governors and trustees. The main concerns lie in the quality of education and leadership and management. The curriculum is ambitious and includes a high take-up of the Ebacc, but it is not delivered consistently across subjects. Teachers do not routinely check pupils’ understanding, so misconceptions can persist and some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. Recent work to improve curriculum design and implementation is at an early stage. The school also needs to strengthen provision for pupils with SEND, whose support in lessons is variable because training and quality assurance are not secure enough. Weakest readers, including those at the earliest stages of reading, are not given the timely support they need, and too few staff have the expertise to help them. Under the current inspection framework the school is not given an overall effectiveness grade; the previous inspection judged it good.

Strengths

• Strong pastoral care and effective safeguarding arrangements
• Pupils are polite, courteous and generally behave well
• An ambitious curriculum with a high proportion of pupils studying the Ebacc
• A strong sixth form where students are independent, achieve well and act as role models
• Well-designed PSHE and a broad personal development offer, including Duke of Edinburgh and extra-curricular activities
• A thorough careers programme that prepares students for university, further education or employment
• A tolerant, welcoming school community with School of Sanctuary status
• Staff feel well supported by leaders, governors and trustees

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects, leading to variable pupil achievement and gaps in knowledge
• Teachers do not routinely check understanding, so misconceptions are not consistently identified and addressed
• Support for pupils with SEND is variable; staff training and quality assurance are not robust enough
• Weakest readers, including those at early stages of reading, do not receive timely, effective support
• Too few staff have the skills and knowledge to support reading and phonics
• Recent curriculum improvement work is in its infancy and its impact is not yet realised

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 Framwellgate School Durham attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.7% 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, 6.0% of pupils at Framwellgate School Durham 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 Framwellgate School Durham had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.4% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Framwellgate School Durham were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 Framwellgate School Durham received £8,217 and spent £8,126 for each of its 1,247 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,506,000 (£2,010 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

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What is Framwellgate School Durham's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Framwellgate School Durham is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Framwellgate School Durham last inspected by Ofsted?

Framwellgate School Durham was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Framwellgate School Durham have?

Framwellgate School Durham has 1,204 pupils on roll.

What age range does Framwellgate School Durham cover?

Framwellgate School Durham for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Framwellgate School Durham's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.9, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Framwellgate School Durham?

Framwellgate School Durham is at Newton Drive, Framwellgate Moor, Durham, DH1 5BQ.