Belmont Community School, Durham

In its own words: "In this section you will find information on how we run our school including our ethos and values, performance, policies and our staff and governing body structure."

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is my pleasure to welcome you to Belmont Community School. We are comprehensive, diverse, inclusive, high achieving and proud of our students and staff. The school ethos is summed up by “ The Belmont Way ”, through which students are taught how to and are given the opportunities to “Work Hard, Contribute and Respect Others”."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include gymnastics and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at Belmont Community School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.6 in County Durham and 47 across England.

48% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in County Durham and 47% in England.

That is down from 53.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.15: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 36.4, against 54.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 24 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, French and History.

For September 2026 entry, 212 families put Belmont Community School as their first choice and 299 named it as one of their preferences, for 185 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 32 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Belmont Community School are St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham (2.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 56.5); Framwellgate School Durham (2.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 48.9); Durham Johnston Comprehensive School (2.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 56.3); and Hetton Academy (3.5 miles, Attainment 8 52.2).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Belmont Community School.

Of the 136 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 49% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

34.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 5.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 117 pupils (13.2%) received SEN support and 22 (2.5%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a moderate learning difficulty.

Belmont Community School has a resourced provision for visual impairment and hearing impairment: 10 places, 3 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Durham Rail Station, about 2.2 miles away in a straight line.

26 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Community School (w-bound), 130 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Belmont Community School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Belmont Community School issued 69 suspensions, 8.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Belmont Community School are Belmont CofE (Controlled) Primary School (under 0.1 miles); St Thomas More Primary School, Belmont (0.2 miles); Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School (0.5 miles); and St Hild's College Church of England Primary School, Durham (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.