Durham Academy

School overview

Durham Academy is a secondary school serving Durham, County Durham, classified by the DfE as an academy converter. It has 396 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll. Ofsted rated the school 'Requires improvement' in January 2026. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 37.4 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 1.1 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

22% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 44% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 62% 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. If you are considering Durham Academy, it may be worth asking how leaders have responded to Ofsted's findings and what has changed since the inspection. 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 further down the page.