Ponteland High School

Ponteland High School has demonstrated good overall effectiveness in its first inspection, with strong leadership driving high ambitions for student achievement. The school fosters a warm, safe environment where positive relationships among staff and pupils thrive, and a range of extracurricular activities enrich students' experiences. The curriculum is well structured, and teachers' high expectations support student learning remarkably well. However, the school faces challenges in areas like early reading support and the delivery of the PSHE curriculum, where inconsistencies have been noted, impacting some students' understanding of key topics.

Strengths

• High-quality pastoral and academic support for all pupils.
• Strong and respectful relationships between staff and pupils.
• Good participation in extracurricular activities such as sports and music.
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum that prepares pupils for future education.
• Effective assessment practices to identify and support pupils' learning needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Support for early-stage readers is underdeveloped.
• Inconsistent implementation of the PSHE curriculum affecting students' understanding.
• Some adjustments needed for pupils with SEND to learn as well as their peers.
• Limited career learning opportunities across 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 Ponteland High School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.8% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Ponteland High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Ponteland High School had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.4% 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, 9.0% of pupils at Ponteland High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.7% 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 Ponteland High School received £7,611 and spent £7,885 for each of its 1,545 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,150,000 (£1,391 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Pele Trust, income was £7,483 and spending £7,649 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 Northumberland · Northumberland local authority: places and applications

Ponteland High School is part of Pele Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Richard Coates Church of England Primary School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Ponteland Primary School Ponteland
• Darras Hall Primary School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Heddon-on-the-Wall, St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Belsay Primary School Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• John Spence Community High School North Shields
• Shilbottle Primary School Alnwick
• The Duchess's Community High School Alnwick
• Swansfield Park Primary School Alnwick
• Longhoughton Church of England Primary School Alnwick

What is Ponteland High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ponteland High School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Ponteland High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ponteland High School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Ponteland High School have?

Ponteland High School has 1,536 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ponteland High School cover?

Ponteland High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Ponteland High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 53.4, and 63% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ponteland High School?

Ponteland High School is at The Crescent, Callerton Lane, Ponteland, Northumberland, NE20 9EG.