Whitworth Park Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · County Durham
Whitworth Lane, Spennymoor, DL16 7LN
68
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 05/10/2022
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
91.1%
27.2% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
996
Capacity used
Has space77%
1,300 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
182 of 182 families who put it first got an offer
195
Places offered
281
Total applications
1.4
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 182 | 182 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 65 | 12 | ● 18% |
| 3rd preference | 34 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 281 | 194 | 69% |
1st preference success by year
County Durham lets families list 3 preferences. Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Stuart Dixon
- Address
- Whitworth Lane, Spennymoor, DL16 7LN
- Phone
- 01388824800
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Ward / constituency
- Spennymoor · Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 145564
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 38% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 3% | — | — |
| SEN support | 17% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
996 pupils · 1,300 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 22
05 October 2022
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,028 pupils
Attendance
91.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
27.2%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
4.7%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
4.5%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.01 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 35% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 56% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.76 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 50.4 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 55.4% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 70.3% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 5.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.95 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 148 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 148 | 19% | 59% | 72% | |
| English Language | 148 | 16% | 48% | 72% | |
| English Literature | 148 | 16% | 61% | 77% | |
| Combined Science | 131 | 8% | 37% | 56% | |
| History | 108 | 18% | 43% | 50% | |
| Art and Design | 102 | 28% | 81% | 100% | |
| Geography | 53 | 36% | 68% | 77% | |
| Biology | 17 | 53% | 100% | 100% | |
| Physics | 17 | 35% | 100% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 17 | 59% | 100% | 100% | |
| Music | 8 | 50% | 100% | 100% | |
| French | 8 | 63% | 100% | 100% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through County Durham council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.