Studio West

Studio West is a secondary studio school within Northern Leaders Trust. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and although its previous inspection grade was Good, the school now requires improvement in all four key judgements; no overall effectiveness grade is given. Pupils have not achieved well over time, particularly in external examinations, which limits their options. The curriculum had been weak, and the pandemic intensified concerns about attendance and behaviour. More recently, trust-supported changes have brought signs of improvement: many pupils are happy and safe, are learning more, and are beginning to access a wider curriculum, with better outcomes in English and mathematics and reducing behaviour incidents. The school's strengths include a well-thought-through curriculum overhaul, effective reading support and vocabulary teaching, good identification and support for pupils with SEND, and effective safeguarding. Pastoral support is helping attendance and behaviour, careers education and the Studio School ethos support next steps, and staff feel valued and supported. However, pupils still have significant gaps in knowledge from historically weak curriculum delivery, and some curriculum units lack clarity or ambition. Disadvantaged pupils are absent too often and attain well below their peers nationally. Behaviour expectations are not consistently met, and removals or suspensions mean some pupils miss vital learning. Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values, different faiths and cultures, and diversity is limited. Leaders and governors have not yet fully implemented, reviewed and embedded their improvement plans, and some parents express dissatisfaction. Overall, the school is moving in the right direction, but improvement is not yet secure. It needs to address gaps in pupils' learning, sharpen curriculum ambition and clarity, improve disadvantaged pupils' attendance and outcomes, strengthen preparation for life in modern Britain, and build leadership and governance capacity so improvement happens rapidly and consistently.

Strengths

• Many pupils are happy, feel safe and recognise recent improvements
• Subject curriculums are well thought through and a wide range of subjects is offered
• Outcomes in English and mathematics are improving
• Reading is identified swiftly and targeted interventions build pupils' confidence
• Teachers explain ambitious vocabulary well and pupils use it in their work
• SEND identification and support are effective
• Pastoral support is improving attendance and reducing behaviour incidents
• Pupils benefit from careers education and the Studio School ethos
• Pupils enjoy wider opportunities such as the school production and elective education
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff feel valued and supported by leaders
• Trustees and governors share a strong vision and oversee off-site sixth-form provision well

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have significant gaps in knowledge because the curriculum was weak historically
• Some curriculum units do not make important knowledge clear enough or ambitious enough
• Disadvantaged pupils are absent too often and attain well below their peers nationally
• Behaviour expectations are not consistently met and disruption still occurs
• Pupils removed from lessons or suspended miss vital learning opportunities
• Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values, faiths, religions and cultures is limited
• Opportunities to celebrate and explore diversity are lacking
• Leaders and governors have not fully implemented, reviewed and embedded improvement plans
• Some parents express dissatisfaction with the school

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 Studio West attended 87.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 37.1% 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, 19.4% of pupils at Studio West were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Studio West had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.6% 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, 23.2% of pupils at Studio West were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.0% 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 Studio West received £9,229 and spent £10,182 for each of its 547 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £339,000 (£620 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Northern Leaders Trust, income was £10,094 and spending £10,163 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 Newcastle-Upon-Tyne · Newcastle upon Tyne local authority: places and applications

Studio West is part of Northern Leaders Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Kenton School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

What is Studio West's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Studio West is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Studio West last inspected by Ofsted?

Studio West was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Studio West have?

Studio West has 496 pupils on roll.

What age range does Studio West cover?

Studio West for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Studio West's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 33.0, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Studio West?

Studio West is at West Denton Way, West Denton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE5 2SZ.