John Spence Community High School

John Spence Community High School is a caring, community-minded school where pupils feel safe, welcomed and a strong sense of belonging. Leaders, governors and the Pele Trust share high ambition for pupils, staff are proud to work at the school, and parents are very supportive. The school serves a disadvantaged community: over half of pupils are eligible for free school meals, SEN support is above average, and the school has resourced provision. Inspectors found the school meeting expected standards in all evaluated areas, with safeguarding met. Achievement is improving after weaker published examination results, and pupils are increasingly able to recall and apply knowledge. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve well from their starting points. Teaching is typically strong, the curriculum is well designed, behaviour is calm and purposeful, and attendance is close to the national average. Inclusion and personal development are notable strengths, with effective support for vulnerable pupils, a well-designed personal development programme, strong careers provision, sport and the student engagement centre helping pupils to re-engage and prepare for next steps. However, published 2024/25 GCSE outcomes remain below national averages in English and mathematics and in Attainment 8. Leaders rightly recognise that teachers do not consistently check pupils’ understanding and address gaps, which limits how securely some pupils build knowledge. Attendance of disadvantaged pupils and persistent absence need continued improvement, and pupils’ self-discipline and resilience should be developed further so they take increasing responsibility for their learning. Overall, this is a school with strong care and improving standards, but with further work needed to make teaching and outcomes consistently strong.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, happy and a strong sense of belonging at the school.
• Staff build positive relationships with pupils and families.
• Behaviour expectations are clear and applied consistently, and lessons are typically calm and purposeful.
• Leaders have a clear understanding of teaching effectiveness and have designed the curriculum well.
• Teachers typically have secure subject knowledge and explain new concepts clearly.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve well from their starting points.
• Inclusion is strong, with timely support and a student engagement centre that helps pupils re-engage.
• Leaders place pupils’ best interests at the heart of decision-making and staff are proud to work at the school.
• The personal development programme, including Fit for Life, careers and sport, is well designed and valued by pupils.
• Safeguarding arrangements are met and there is an open culture of safeguarding.
• Attendance is close to the national average, with bespoke support for pupils who find attending challenging.
• Parents and carers are very supportive and many would recommend the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Published 2024/25 GCSE outcomes are below national averages in English and mathematics and in Attainment 8.
• Teachers do not consistently check pupils’ understanding and address gaps in knowledge.
• The quality of teaching varies in how consistently effective approaches are applied.
• Attendance of disadvantaged pupils and persistent absence require continued improvement.
• Pupils’ self-discipline and resilience need further development so they take increasing responsibility for their learning.
• Leaders have identified weaknesses in pupils’ literacy and numeracy knowledge and are taking steps to address them.

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 John Spence Community High School attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.1% 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, 10.3% of pupils at John Spence Community High School 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 John Spence Community High School had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.6% 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, 19.4% of pupils at John Spence Community High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 13 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 John Spence Community High School received £10,392 and spent £9,901 for each of its 813 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £405,000 (£498 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 North Shields · North Tyneside local authority: places and applications

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

• Ponteland High School Ponteland
• 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
• 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 John Spence Community High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for John Spence Community High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was John Spence Community High School last inspected by Ofsted?

John Spence Community High School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does John Spence Community High School have?

John Spence Community High School has 872 pupils on roll.

What age range does John Spence Community High School cover?

John Spence Community High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are John Spence Community High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.0, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is John Spence Community High School?

John Spence Community High School is at Preston Road, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE29 9PU.