Outwood Academy Riverside

Outwood Academy Riverside has achieved a 'Good' rating in its first inspection since opening in 2020. The school demonstrates a strong commitment to catering to a diverse student body, offering robust pastoral support that encourages students to develop into resilient young adults. Relationships between staff and students are noted to be respectful and supportive, contributing to a generally positive school atmosphere. However, while there are effective systems in place for behaviour management and pastoral support, inconsistencies in the application of these policies in the classroom sometimes lead to low-level disruptions affecting learning.

Strengths

• High expectations of conduct and strong routines established by leaders.
• Excellent pastoral support for students.
• Warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff.
• Strong focus on health, well-being, and mental health education.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs.
• Broad and enriching curriculum opportunities beyond the classroom.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of the curriculum leads to variable pupil understanding.
• Staff do not always apply behaviour policies consistently, affecting pupil learning.

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 Outwood Academy Riverside attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.3% 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, 9.4% of pupils at Outwood Academy Riverside 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 Outwood Academy Riverside had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.7% 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, 20.8% of pupils at Outwood Academy Riverside were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% 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 Outwood Academy Riverside received £11,588 and spent £9,969 for each of its 693 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £978,000 (£1,412 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, income was £8,313 and spending £8,200 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 Middlesbrough · Middlesbrough local authority: places and applications

Outwood Academy Riverside is part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Outwood Academy Acklam Middlesbrough
• Outwood Academy Ormesby Middlesbrough
• Outwood Academy Normanby Middlesbrough
• Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth Stockton-On-Tees
• Outwood Academy Redcar Redcar
• Outwood Academy Bydales Redcar
• Outwood Academy Easingwold York
• Outwood Academy Ripon Ripon
• Outwood Primary Academy Greystone Ripon
• Outwood Primary Academy Alne York

What is Outwood Academy Riverside's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Outwood Academy Riverside is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was Outwood Academy Riverside last inspected by Ofsted?

Outwood Academy Riverside was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does Outwood Academy Riverside have?

Outwood Academy Riverside has 745 pupils on roll.

What age range does Outwood Academy Riverside cover?

Outwood Academy Riverside for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Outwood Academy Riverside's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.3, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Outwood Academy Riverside?

Outwood Academy Riverside is at 100 Russell Street, Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, TS1 2AD.