Excelsior Academy, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

From the headteacher's welcome: "At Excelsior, we want every child to feel safe, known, valued and ambitious for their future. We believe in high expectations, strong relationships and excellent care. Our job is to make sure pupils enjoy school, work hard, achieve well and leave us ready for the next stage of their lives. Our staff care deeply about our pupils and our community."

The school runs a breakfast club from 8:00am and after-school care.

On phones, the school says: "Excelsior Life Latest News School Calendar (What's On) Term Dates Transition Letters Home Our Behaviour Curriculum Our Excelsior Breakfast Clubs MCR Pathways Music at Excelsior Excelsior Football Academy Yondr Phone Pouches"

In 2026, pupils at Excelsior Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 34.4, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 42.8 in Newcastle upon Tyne and 47 across England.

28% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Newcastle upon Tyne and 47% in England.

That is up from 33.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.62: pupils made well 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 31, against 43.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 12.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 18 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and Business Studies.

For September 2026 entry, 171 families put Excelsior Academy as their first choice and 354 named it as one of their preferences, for 240 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Excelsior Academy are St Cuthbert's High School (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.9); Sacred Heart Catholic High School (1.4 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 51.8); Studio West (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 33); and St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52).

Excelsior Academy's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Excelsior Academy is one of 11 schools run by The Laidlaw Schools Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.1 in 2024/25.

Of the 196 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 77% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 39% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 70 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 37% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 14% into work.

74.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 54.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (37%), Asian (19%) and Mixed (8%).

In 2026, 345 pupils (25.8%) received SEN support and 37 (2.8%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Blaydon Rail Station, about 1.1 miles away in a straight line.

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Denton Road-Woodstock Road (s-bound), 190 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Excelsior Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 185 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and shoplifting. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Newcastle upon Tyne (318).

In 2024/25, Excelsior Academy issued 914 suspensions, 63.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 9 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Excelsior Academy are St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Newcastle (0.3 miles); Broadwood Primary School (0.4 miles); Waverley Primary School (0.6 miles); and St George's Catholic Primary School, Bells Close (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.