John Spence Community High School

John Spence Community High School at a glance

Located in North Shields, North Tyneside, John Spence Community High School is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 812 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Requires improvement' at its most recent inspection. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 41.0 — below the national average (national average: 46). Performance is little changed 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.

29% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 50% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. 98% of the families who made John Spence Community High School their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. After Year 11, 88% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 11.1%. There are about 13.5 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 49% 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 John Spence Community High School, 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 above.