Thornley Academy

Thornley Academy at a glance

Located in County Durham, Thornley Academy is a primary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 156 pupils aged 2 to 11. 54% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, below the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has risen by 23.0 percentage points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 101 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 4% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Thornley Academy their first choice was offered one of its 13 Reception places. There are about 19.2 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 42% 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. Thornley 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.