Wyvern Academy

Wyvern Academy has made significant progress since its last inspection, moving from a position of requiring improvement to being rated as good overall. The school fosters a positive and inclusive environment where pupils feel happy and safe, and staff have developed strong relationships with students. The leadership team has successfully implemented a broad and ambitious curriculum that caters to the diverse needs of its students, ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well-supported and engaged in their learning.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe, and well-supported.
• Strong and respectful relationships between staff and pupils.
• Broad and ambitious curriculum that allows for pupil choice.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Consistent behavior expectations with most pupils meeting them.
• Rich extra-curricular opportunities promoting personal development.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistency in curriculum delivery across some classes.
• Tasks sometimes do not consider pupils' starting points.
• Pupils lack a secure understanding of other faiths and religions.

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 Wyvern Academy attended 90.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.2% 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, 16.5% of pupils at Wyvern Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Wyvern Academy had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.5% 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, 21.8% of pupils at Wyvern Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.6% 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 Wyvern Academy received £8,405 and spent £9,319 for each of its 503 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £328,000 (£651 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Consilium Academies, income was £9,167 and spending £9,138 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 Darlington · Darlington local authority: places and applications

Wyvern Academy is part of Consilium Academies, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Washington Academy Washington
• Thornhill Academy Sunderland
• Heworth Grange School Gateshead
• Armthorpe Academy Doncaster
• Moorside High School Manchester
• Ellesmere Park High School Manchester

What is Wyvern Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wyvern Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was Wyvern Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Wyvern Academy was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does Wyvern Academy have?

Wyvern Academy has 464 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wyvern Academy cover?

Wyvern Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Wyvern Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.3, and 29% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Wyvern Academy?

Wyvern Academy is at Eggleston View, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 9SH.