Bishop Barrington Academy, Bishop Auckland
Bishop Barrington Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Bishop Auckland, part of Advance Learning Partnership. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2024. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 4th-highest of the 5 schools in Bishop Auckland with published results, and 2,773rd of 3,298 across England. It was 66% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to County Durham (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Bishop Barrington Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Bishop Barrington Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.6 in County Durham and 47 across England.
25% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in County Durham and 47% in England.
That is in line with 2025, when the score was 39.4.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.27: pupils made below 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 35.9, against 42.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 6.3 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 20 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Sports Studies and Geography.
Getting a place at Bishop Barrington Academy
For September 2026 entry, 95 families put Bishop Barrington Academy as their first choice and 307 named it as one of their preferences, for 106 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Bishop Barrington Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Bishop Barrington Academy are St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College (0.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.8); King James I Academy Bishop Auckland (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 43.1); Parkside Academy (3.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42); and Greenfield Academy (4.2 miles, Attainment 8 37.7).
Bishop Barrington Academy's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.
St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form CollegeKing James I Academy Bishop AucklandParkside AcademyGreenfield Academy
The trust
Bishop Barrington Academy is one of 23 schools run by Advance Learning Partnership, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.3 in 2024/25.
Where pupils go next
Of the 139 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 83% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 61% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Who goes there
51.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 3.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Bishop Barrington Academy has a resourced provision for autism: 9 places, 9 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Bishop Auckland West Weardale Rail Station, about 770 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).
11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Woodhouse Lane Schools (e-bound), 120 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Bishop Barrington Academy stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Bishop Barrington Academy issued 40 suspensions, 6.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Bishop Barrington Academy are St Anne's CofE Primary School (0.2 miles); St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School, Bishop Auckland (0.2 miles); Woodhouse Primary Academy (0.6 miles); and Cockton Hill Junior School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
St Anne's CofE Primary SchoolSt Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School, Bishop AucklandWoodhouse Primary AcademyCockton Hill Junior School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils at Bishop Barrington Academy are welcoming. The school reinforces its high expectations when teaching pupils about the 'Barrington way'. Pupils learn the importance of making positive choices in their behaviour and learning. This is reflected in pupils' positive conduct. Incidents of poor behaviour have significantly reduced and are infrequent. Consequently, pupils learn effectively and enjoy playing in the company of peers.
The school provides pupils with a comprehensive range of opportunities to enrich their education. Leaders have adjusted the timings of the school day to make sure that these are accessible to all pupils. The variety of clubs available, such as mindfulness, craft club and sports clubs, interest a wide range of pupils. Many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, have made use of the school's new lunchtime clubs and activities.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Previous weaknesses in the school's curriculum failed to prepare pupils well for their next stages in education, employment or training. Leaders have identified and addressed these failings. Staff now have higher expectations of what pupils can achieve. Leaders have redesigned and significantly strengthened the curriculum in all subjects. Pupils, especially in younger year groups, have an increasingly detailed understanding of the subjects that they learn. This strengthened understanding is not reflected in the school's published outcomes. The pupils represented in 2023 results were in Year 10 when the school opened. They did not fully benefit from these improvements.
Teachers are well-trained. They have strong knowledge of the subjects that they teach. The school has identified consistent and effective strategies to deliver the curriculum. Teachers ensure that pupils regularly revisit the most important content in each subject. This aids pupils' ability to recall this knowledge. Over time, pupils complete increasingly complex tasks and draw on what they have learned previously.
From Ofsted's June 2024 inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its June 2024 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management.
About
Bishop Barrington Academy is a co-educational secondary school located in the town of Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, England.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
51.6%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Autism
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has improved from -0.52 to -0.27 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 43.7 to 39.0 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 32% to 25% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 39.0 | 25.3% |
| Disadvantaged(44) | - | 35.9 | 18.2% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(43) | - | 42.2 | 32.6% |
| Boys(51) | - | 37.1 | 23.5% |
| Girls(36) | - | 41.6 | 27.8% |
Show more breakdowns (1)
| Non mobile(81) | - | 39.0 | 23.5% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 139 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
2
Permanent exclusions
0.33%
Exclusion rate
40
Suspensions
6.64%
Suspension rate
28 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 602 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Bishop Barrington Academy
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Bishop Barrington Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Bishop Barrington Academy is in County Durham; for families living there:
- County Durham's school travel policy: School transport policies and strategies
- How to apply: Apply for free home to school travel
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 8
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 7 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Bishop Barrington Academy
Will you get a place at Bishop Barrington Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Bishop Barrington Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Bishop Barrington Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Bishop Barrington Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from County Durham, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Bishop Barrington Academy for 2022 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in County Durham got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
66%
Available places
595 pupils
900 places
305 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bishop Auckland
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bishop Auckland
Across County Durham council
Places available
5,720
Applications
4,986
Got 1st preference
94.2%
Got preferred school
98.5%
All secondary applications across County Durham council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
128
SEN Support
30
EHC Plans
26.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Bishop Barrington Academy has a resourced provision for autism: 9 places, 9 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
599
Total Pupils
318
Boys
281
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
35
Teachers
17.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,947
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£8,001
Per pupil
£5264k
Total funding
£321k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.3%
Overall absence
36.9%
Persistent absence
648
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Bishop Barrington Academy
What are GCSE results like at Bishop Barrington Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Bishop Barrington Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 39. 25% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Bishop Barrington Academy's Ofsted rating?
Bishop Barrington Academy was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2024.
What is the catchment area for Bishop Barrington Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Bishop Barrington Academy is oversubscribed, County Durham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Bishop Barrington Academy?
Bishop Barrington Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 66% of its 900 places.
How big are the classes at Bishop Barrington Academy?
Classes at Bishop Barrington Academy average 21.1 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Bishop Barrington Academy?
Bishop Barrington Academy has around 599 pupils on roll. 52% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Bishop Barrington Academy have specialist SEN provision?
Bishop Barrington Academy has a resourced provision for autism: 9 places, 9 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Bishop Barrington Academy?
11.3% of sessions were missed at Bishop Barrington Academy in 2024/25. 36.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Bishop Barrington Academy?
Apply through County Durham's coordinated admissions process, naming Bishop Barrington Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Bishop Barrington Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 7 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Bishop Barrington Academy?
Bishop Barrington Academy is at Woodhouse Lane, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 6LA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)