Wolsingham School

Academy converter·Secondary school Bishop Auckland, County Durham·DL13 3DJ
Composite score
55.9
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#1,767
National rank
#76
In North East
#20
In County Durham
Top 56%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
44.7
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
38%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
58%
% EBacc grade 5+
14%
EBacc average points score
3.85

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
77%
181 first choices, 143 places
First choices per place
1.27
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
368
any preference, for 143 places
Last place offered lived
6.74 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 10845 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.11
00.511.52
1 per place
0.9620221.1120231.4020241.3720251.272026

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
743
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
27.7%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
1.6%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
22.1%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.5%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
10.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
32.6%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.6
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,208
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
96%
135 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
90%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
1%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Location

About Wolsingham School

Wolsingham School is a secondary school in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 743 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 44.7 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 3.4 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

38% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 58% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Wolsingham School is oversubscribed: about 8 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 181 first choices for 143 places. In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 6.74 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, 96% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 10.7%. There are about 17.6 pupils per teacher. Wolsingham School 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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