Parkside Academy, Crook

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, cricket, athletics and maths club.

In 2026, pupils at Parkside Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.6 in County Durham and 47 across England.

40% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in County Durham and 47% in England.

That is down from 46.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.01: pupils made about 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 36.7, against 45.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 20 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Multimedia, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 102 families put Parkside Academy as their first choice and 215 named it as one of their preferences, for 117 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 Parkside Academy are Whitworth Park Academy (3.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.3); King James I Academy Bishop Auckland (3.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.1); Bishop Barrington Academy (3.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39); and St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College (3.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.8).

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

Parkside 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.

Of the 169 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 79% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 57% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 5% into work.

43.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 0.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 98 pupils (11.8%) received SEN support and 22 (2.6%) 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 specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Parkside Academy.

12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Parkside School (n-bound), 150 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Parkside Academy 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 128 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in County Durham (84), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Parkside Academy issued 201 suspensions, 22.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 6 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Parkside Academy are St Stephen's Church of England Primary School (0.1 miles); Willington Primary School (0.3 miles); Our Lady and St Thomas Catholic Primary School, Willington (0.5 miles); and Sunnybrow Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.