Outwood Academy Riverside, Middlesbrough
Outwood Academy Riverside is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Middlesbrough, part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2023. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 7th-highest of the 11 schools in Middlesbrough with published results, and 2,585th of 3,298 across England. It was 65% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2023)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Middlesbrough (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Outwood Academy Riverside in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Outwood Academy Riverside averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.6 in Middlesbrough and 47 across England.
32% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 38% in Middlesbrough and 47% in England.
That is down from 43.2 in 2025.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 37.3, against 44.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 6.8 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.
Getting a place at Outwood Academy Riverside
For September 2026 entry, 114 families put Outwood Academy Riverside as their first choice and 233 named it as one of their preferences, for 205 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 Outwood Academy Riverside
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Outwood Academy Riverside are Macmillan Academy (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.3); Lift Unity City (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 36.9); Trinity Catholic College (2.1 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 42.7); and Outwood Academy Acklam (2.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.7).
Outwood Academy Riverside's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.
Macmillan AcademyLift Unity CityTrinity Catholic CollegeOutwood Academy Acklam
The trust
Outwood Academy Riverside is one of 40 schools run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.4 in 2024/25.
Who goes there
64% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 55.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (25%), Asian (23%) and Black (15%).
In 2026, 155 pupils (20.8%) received SEN support and 11 (1.5%) 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.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Middlesbrough Rail Station - main ent, about 640 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St John's Church (b), 40 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Outwood Academy Riverside stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 972 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Middlesbrough (532), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Outwood Academy Riverside issued 229 suspensions, 33.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 8 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Outwood Academy Riverside are Abingdon Primary School (0.2 miles), Breckon Hill Primary School (0.5 miles), Lift North Ormesby (0.7 miles) and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Abingdon Primary SchoolBreckon Hill Primary SchoolLift North OrmesbySt Joseph's Catholic Primary 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 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
Middlesbrough published that the last place for 2024 entry went to a family 1.055 miles away (straight line). The cut-off moves every year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 3 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its May 2023 inspection.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management.
About
Outwood Academy Riverside is a secondary school in Middlesbrough, England. It has a mixed intake of boys and girls ages 11–16 with a comprehensive admissions policy.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
64.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Attainment 8 has declined from 43.2 to 40.3 (2025 to 2026), while gCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 28% to 32% (2025 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 40.3 | 32.1% |
| Disadvantaged(78) | - | 37.3 | 28.2% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(62) | - | 44.1 | 37.1% |
| Boys(72) | - | 35.3 | 26.4% |
| Girls(68) | - | 45.6 | 38.2% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(65) | - | 43.0 | 36.9% |
| Non mobile(124) | - | 40.6 | 33.1% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 3 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
Exclusions & Suspensions
8
Permanent exclusions
1.16%
Exclusion rate
229
Suspensions
33.19%
Suspension rate
65 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 690 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Outwood Academy Riverside
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Outwood Academy Riverside from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Outwood Academy Riverside is in Middlesbrough; for families living there:
Apply to Middlesbrough for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 41
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 12
- Children hurt
- 7
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 41 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 12 serious and 29 slight.
7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
12 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 Middlesbrough is 14 (the median across 64 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 Outwood Academy Riverside
Will you get a place at Outwood Academy Riverside? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Outwood Academy Riverside's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Outwood Academy Riverside:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Outwood Academy Riverside.
- Last distance offered for 2023 and 2024 entry, from Middlesbrough's own figures, and how your distance compares each year.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Outwood Academy Riverside for 2021 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Middlesbrough 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
65%
Available places
679 pupils
1,050 places
371 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Middlesbrough
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Middlesbrough
Across Middlesbrough council
Places available
1,884
Applications
1,913
Got 1st preference
84.3%
Got preferred school
96.3%
All secondary applications across Middlesbrough council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
155
SEN Support
11
EHC Plans
22.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
745
Total Pupils
392
Boys
353
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
45
Teachers
16.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,876
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£8,553
Per pupil
£7375k
Total funding
£454k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.5%
Overall absence
23.3%
Persistent absence
777
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
Outwood Academy Riverside
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Outwood Academy Riverside
What are GCSE results like at Outwood Academy Riverside?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Outwood Academy Riverside achieved an Attainment 8 score of 40.3. 32% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Outwood Academy Riverside's Ofsted rating?
Outwood Academy Riverside was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2023.
How close to Outwood Academy Riverside do you need to live?
Middlesbrough publishes how far the last offered place was, in miles: 0.94 for 2023 entry, then 1.055 for 2024 entry. The cut-off has loosened over that period, so places have been reaching further out. These are the authority's own figures, not a fixed boundary - the cut-off moves with the number of applications each year.
Is it hard to get a place at Outwood Academy Riverside?
Outwood Academy Riverside was not full in 2025: it ran at 65% of its 1050 places.
How big are the classes at Outwood Academy Riverside?
Classes at Outwood Academy Riverside average 22.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Outwood Academy Riverside?
Outwood Academy Riverside has around 745 pupils on roll. 64% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Outwood Academy Riverside?
7.5% of sessions were missed at Outwood Academy Riverside in 2024/25. 23.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Outwood Academy Riverside?
Apply through Middlesbrough's coordinated admissions process, naming Outwood Academy Riverside 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 Outwood Academy Riverside?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 41 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 12 serious and 29 slight. 7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 12 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 Middlesbrough is 14 (the median across 64 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Outwood Academy Riverside?
Outwood Academy Riverside is at 100 Russell Street, Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, TS1 2AD.
Sources: Middlesbrough admissions booklets; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)