Ferryhill School, Ferryhill

In its own words: "Our three core values - Integrity, Creativity and Excellence - sit at the heart of everything we do. We want our students to have the integrity to make positive choices and do the right thing, the creativity to think boldly and see possibilities, and the ambition to strive for excellence in all that they do."

In 2026, pupils at Ferryhill School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.6 in County Durham and 47 across England.

22% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in County Durham and 47% in England.

That is down from 41.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.37: 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 32.7, against 45.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 12.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 19 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Business Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 134 families put Ferryhill School as their first choice and 243 named it as one of their preferences, for 156 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 Ferryhill School are Aycliffe Secure Centre (1.2 miles); Whitworth Park Academy (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.3); Woodham Academy (4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.5); and King James I Academy Bishop Auckland (4.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.1).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Ferryhill School.

Ferryhill School is one of 10 schools run by Eden Learning Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 47.3 in 2024/25.

Of the 151 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 61% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

50.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 2.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Ferryhill School.

4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Academy (sw-bound), 160 metres away.

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

In 2024/25, Ferryhill School issued 259 suspensions, 35.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 6 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Ferryhill School are Dean Bank Primary and Nursery School (0.7 miles), Kirk Merrington Primary School (1 mile), Broom Cottages Primary & Nursery School (1.2 miles) and North Park Primary School (1.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.