Norham High School, North Shields

Ofsted's report card from its 9 September 2026 inspection grades Norham High School on 6 areas: 3 exceptional and 3 strong standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Exceptional. "Leaders' work to secure improvements in attendance has been very effective."

Inclusion - Exceptional. "Norham is a highly inclusive school."

Leadership and governance - Exceptional. "Leaders and those responsible for governance work to ensure that every one of the pupils at Norham has the highest possible quality of education."

Achievement - Strong standard. "Pupils, including those who may face barriers to their learning, achieve very well."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Leaders have designed a broad and well-balanced curriculum."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders have carefully constructed an ambitious personal development programme which is thoughtfully adapted to the school's context."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue to make improvements to teaching so that all subjects have a sustained and transformational impact for pupils and the growing number of pupils who enter the school with higher prior attainment attain highly in all qualifications by the end of key stage 4".

From the headteacher's welcome: "I am thrilled to take the opportunity to introduce myself as the Headteacher of Norham High School. Having led a number of schools to improve I was delighted to be appointed here and take up post with an almost entirely new team, rapidly improving the school."

In 2026, pupils at Norham High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.2 in North Tyneside and 47 across England.

33% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 46% in North Tyneside and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 42.7.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.2: 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 41.4, against 45.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 3.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 19 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Information and Communication Technology, Combined Science and Hospitality and Catering.

For September 2026 entry, 139 families put Norham High School as their first choice and 216 named it as one of their preferences, for 78 places offered. That is 1.8 first choices for every place. 62 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Norham High School are St Thomas More Catholic High School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.8); Churchill Academy (1.4 miles); Churchill Community College (1.4 miles, Inadequate, Attainment 8 42.9); and John Spence Community High School (1.4 miles, Attainment 8 43).

Norham High School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

Norham High School is one of 31 schools run by The North Tyneside Learning Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 70 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 80% to a further education college and 1% to an apprenticeship.

63.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 9.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (86%) and Black (6%).

In 2026, 106 pupils (21.3%) received SEN support and 85 (17.1%) 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.

Norham High School has a resourced provision (40 places, 40 pupils on roll) and a SEN unit (30 places, 21 pupils on roll) for speech, language and communication needs and social, emotional and mental health needs.

Norham High School had 35 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Meadow Well (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 670 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Norham Community Technology College (w-bound), 90 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Norham High School 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 462 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in North Tyneside (232), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Norham High School issued 85 suspensions, 18.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Norham High School are St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, North Shields (0.2 miles); Collingwood Primary School (0.2 miles); Riverside Primary School (0.5 miles); and Percy Main Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.