Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Popular emoji_events #11 in Northumberland public Top 41% UK

The Duchess's Community High School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personHead not listed

location_onAlnwick, NE66 2DH

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2021

groups

Students

1,443

trending_up

Progress 8

-0.26

leaderboard

GCSE Rank

#11 in Northumberland

#2,432 of 4,676 nationally

summarize

The Duchess's Community High School is a Community school secondary school in Alnwick, serving ages 11-18. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards. Academic progress is broadly in line with the national average (Progress 8: -0.26). Demand is above capacity (1.0×) — apply through your local authority on time.

article

School Summary

The Duchess's Community High School is a community school in Alnwick, Northumberland, admitting pupils aged 11-18. It has a sixth form offering post-16 education. The school has approximately 1,443 pupils on roll.

In 2024, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 42.7, placing the school #11 in Northumberland and #2,432 of 4,676 nationally. Progress 8 was -0.26 — broadly in line with the national average.

A-level value added: +0.15 — students made above-average progress at sixth form.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2021. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement, personal development Requires improvement, and leadership and management Requires improvement.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.0× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 16.2:1. There are no current teaching vacancies. Teacher turnover in the previous year was 10.6%.

In the 2022/23 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 4.4 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

analytics

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2024

Progress 8 Score

-0.26

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

42.7

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc9.70%

EBacc APS3.53

2023

Progress 8 Score

-0.26

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

42.2

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc15%

EBacc APS3.55

2022

Progress 8 Score

-0.13

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

45.8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc16%

EBacc APS3.82

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc14%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

-0.38

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

44.3

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc21%

EBacc APS3.7

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.29

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

42.7

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc17%

EBacc APS3.53

explore

Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

94%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)81%

Apprenticeships6%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)5%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

95%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)81%

Apprenticeships4%

Employment11%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)5%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

93%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)82%

Apprenticeships2%

Employment8%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)6%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

95%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)79%

Apprenticeships9%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)3%

workspace_premium

Sixth Form (A-Level) Performance

A-level results for students who stayed in sixth form at this school. Value added measures how much progress students made relative to their GCSE starting point.

2024

A-Level Value Added

+0.15

vs expected from GCSEs

Pupils make above-average progress at A-level.

Avg Grade

C+

Students

119

Retention rate97.50%

2023

Avg Grade

C+

Students

Retention rate94.40%

2022

Avg Grade

C+

Students

Retention rate93.3%

Source: DfE A Level and Other 16-18 Results

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

No digital report timeline available.

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2021-10-19

S5 Inspection EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Requires improvement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2017-05-18

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2012-09-26

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2007-10-11

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

5.8%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 6.6% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

2.6%(37 pupils)

Summer term 2023

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.694% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Summer term of 2023, this school served a headcount of 1,435 pupils. During this period, there were 83 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 5.8%, which is below the termly national average of 6.6%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2022/23 (Summer term)	1,435	83	5.8%	6.6%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	1,443	68	4.7%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	1,470	41	2.8%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	1,475	37	2.5%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	1,493	60	4.0%	4.9%	2
2021/22 (Autumn term)	1,502	31	2.1%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	1,492	49	3.3%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	1,495	9	0.6%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	1,497	21	1.4%	3.9%	1
2019/20 (Summer term)	1,432	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	1,432	14	1.0%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	1,432	13	0.9%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	1,428	42	2.9%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	1,441	55	3.8%	3.8%	1
2018/19 (Autumn term)	1,437	57	4.0%	3.8%	4
2017/18 (Summer term)	1,447	75	5.2%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	1,464	41	2.8%	3.0%	3
2017/18 (Autumn term)	1,475	71	4.8%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	1,028	41	4.0%	3.0%	1
2016/17 (Spring term)	1,037	42	4.1%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	1,042	35	3.4%	3.1%	2

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

Top Secondary Schools in Northumberland

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Ponteland High School

Good

location_on Ponteland, NE20 9EG

emoji_events #1 in LA

The King Edward VI School

Outstanding

location_on Morpeth, NE61 1DN

emoji_events #2 in LA

Queen Elizabeth High School

Good

location_on Hexham, NE46 3JB

emoji_events #3 in LA

The Blyth Academy

Good

location_on Blyth, NE24 4JP

emoji_events #4 in LA

Bede Academy

Good

location_on Blyth, NE24 2SY

emoji_events #5 in LA

Ashington Academy

Good

location_on Ashington, NE63 8DH

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Northumberland arrow_forward

The Duchess's Community High School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

Student Destinations (After Secondary)

Sixth Form (A-Level) Performance

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

School Capacity

Secondary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Funding & Staffing

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Secondary Schools in Northumberland

Ponteland High School

The King Edward VI School

Queen Elizabeth High School

The Blyth Academy

Bede Academy

Ashington Academy