Walker Riverside Academy

Walker Riverside Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school in the Tyne Coast Academy Trust. Following this September 2024 graded inspection, the quality of education requires improvement, while behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management are good. The report notes that pupils are proud of their school, feel safe and cared for, and benefit from a calm, purposeful environment. Leaders have a precise understanding of the school's context and have taken significant, well-judged action since the previous inspection, with external support and stronger governance driving improvements. Pupils' achievement in national assessments in 2023 was not strong, and the quality of education is improving but not yet good. The curriculum is typically well designed and ambitious, with a strong literacy focus and a consistent teaching approach that is working well in many subjects. However, curriculum development is still ongoing in a few subjects, and implementation is inconsistent in some areas, meaning some pupils do not develop as firm a grasp of important knowledge as they should. Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and access the same curriculum, reading is well taught, and attendance is improving, although some pupils remain absent too often. Behaviour, personal development, leadership and safeguarding are notable strengths. Pupils are considerate, respectful of diversity and well supported to make safe and healthy choices, and they receive useful careers guidance. Staff, parents and pupils speak positively about the school, and leaders are considerate of staff workload and wellbeing. The school currently has no sixth-form students and is not accepting students while it develops a revised sixth-form offer in partnership with other trust schools.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, proud and well cared for, with a strong sense of belonging
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, with most pupils behaving well
• Pupils are considerate and respectful of diversity and equality
• Personal development is strong, including safety, wellbeing and careers guidance
• Leadership and management are good, with precise and ambitious leadership
• Trust and local governance drive improvement and are considerate of staff wellbeing
• The curriculum is typically well designed, ambitious and literacy-focused
• Teaching builds on prior learning and addresses misconceptions effectively in many subjects
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and access the same curriculum
• The reading curriculum is well designed, with daily reading and support for gaps
• Attendance is improving because of effective leadership and rewards
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Quality of education requires improvement
• Pupils' achievement in national assessments in 2023 was not strong
• Curriculum development is still ongoing in a few subjects
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects
• Some pupils do not develop a firm grasp of important knowledge
• Some teachers are still developing how best to check understanding and practise key content
• Pupils' achievement is not yet as high as it should be in some subjects
• Some pupils occasionally behave below the expected standard
• Some pupils are absent too often

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 Walker Riverside Academy attended 87.9% 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, 19.1% of pupils at Walker Riverside Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 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 Walker Riverside Academy had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.4% 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, 24.0% of pupils at Walker Riverside Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 12 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 Walker Riverside Academy received £10,222 and spent £10,216 for each of its 1,123 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £978,000 (£871 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Tyne Coast Academy Trust, income was £9,114 and spending £9,201 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

Walker Riverside Academy is part of Tyne Coast Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• North East Futures UTC Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Ridgeway Primary Academy South Shields
• Monkwearmouth Academy Sunderland
• Redby Academy Sunderland

What is Walker Riverside Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Walker Riverside Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Walker Riverside Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Walker Riverside Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Walker Riverside Academy have?

Walker Riverside Academy has 1,101 pupils on roll.

What age range does Walker Riverside Academy cover?

Walker Riverside Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Walker Riverside Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.1, and 30% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Walker Riverside Academy?

Walker Riverside Academy is at Waverdale Avenue, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE6 4AW.