Easington Academy

Easington Academy is a caring, ambitious secondary school where pupils achieve well and behave well. Inspectors found an ambitious curriculum, strong subject knowledge, effective reading support, and very good provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Attendance is improving, pupils are polite and respectful, and classrooms are calm and purposeful. The school's personal development programme is exceptional, with pupils benefiting from rich enrichment, trips, pupil leadership groups and strong community links that prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum with a high and growing proportion of pupils accessing the English Baccalaureate pathway
• Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and regularly revisit prior learning
• Reading is a priority, with effective support for the weakest readers and activities that build a love of reading
• Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and very well supported to access the full curriculum
• Attendance support is effective and persistent absence has reduced
• Pupils behave well, are polite and courteous, and respond positively to the clear behaviour and rewards system
• Personal development provision is exceptional and develops mutual respect, British values and character
• Pupil leadership groups have a significant positive impact on the school and local community
• Governance has strong oversight and staff are well supported with development, workload and well-being
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school

Areas for Improvement

• On occasion, teachers spend too much time scaffolding learning and do not move pupils on to independent tasks quickly enough, so some pupils take longer to secure their understanding of the curriculum

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 Easington Academy attended 90.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.4% 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, 10.0% of pupils at Easington Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Easington Academy had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% 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, 15.0% of pupils at Easington Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% 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 Easington Academy received £9,043 and spent £8,668 for each of its 788 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £994,000 (£1,262 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of North East Learning Trust, income was £8,623 and spending £8,502 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 Peterlee · County Durham local authority: places and applications

Easington Academy is part of North East Learning Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• The Academy at Shotton Hall Peterlee
• Diamond Hall Junior Academy Sunderland
• Biddick Academy Washington
• Hermitage Academy Chester Le Street
• Browney Primary Academy Browney
• Sacriston Academy Durham
• Carville Academy Wallsend
• Churchill Academy Wallsend
• Rye Hills Academy Redcar
• Bedlington Academy Bedlington

What is Easington Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Easington Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Easington Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Easington Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Easington Academy have?

Easington Academy has 769 pupils on roll.

What age range does Easington Academy cover?

Easington Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Easington Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.0, and 55% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Easington Academy?

Easington Academy is at Stockton Road, Easington Village, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 3AY.