Woodham Academy

Academy converter·Secondary school Newton Aycliffe, County Durham·DL5 4AX
Composite score
60.2
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#1,165
National rank
#44
In North East
#11
In County Durham
Top 37%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
48.2
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
46%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
66%
% EBacc grade 5+
29%
EBacc average points score
4.35

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
94%
240 first choices, 225 places
First choices per place
1.07
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
347
any preference, for 225 places
Last place offered lived
1.98 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 3190 m
Applications from another council area
4%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.01
00.511.5
1 per place
1.2020221.0020231.0120241.0620251.072026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,027
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
37.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
4.1%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
16.6%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
1.8%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.6%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
25.5%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
15.3
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,393
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
93%
148 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
86%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Woodham Academy at a glance

Located in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, Woodham Academy is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 1,027 pupils aged 11 to 16. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 48.2 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 1.8 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 37% of secondary schools nationally.

46% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 66% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Woodham Academy is oversubscribed: about 9 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 240 first choices for 225 places. In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 1.98 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. After Year 11, 93% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.6%. There are about 15.3 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 38% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. Woodham Academy does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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