Thornley Academy, Durham
Thornley Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in Durham, part of Wise Academies. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 37th-highest of the 43 schools in Durham with published results, and 12,253rd of 14,452 across England. It was 59% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to County Durham (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Thornley Academy in detail
Results
In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils at Thornley Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 58% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 74% in County Durham and 77% and 75% across England.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Thornley Academy
For September 2026 entry, 13 families put Thornley Academy as their first choice and 23 named it as one of their preferences, for 13 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Thornley Academy are St Godrics Catholic Primary School, Thornley (0.9 miles, 57% reading, 86% maths); Ludworth Primary School (0.9 miles, Good, 73% reading, 64% maths); Wheatley Hill Community Primary School (0.9 miles, Good, 88% reading, 75% maths); and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton (1.6 miles, Good, 90% reading, 81% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Thornley Academy.
St Godrics Catholic Primary School, ThornleyLudworth Primary SchoolWheatley Hill Community Primary SchoolOur Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Shotton
The trust
Thornley Academy is one of 18 schools run by Wise Academies, an academy trust.
Who goes there
4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 42 pupils (33.9%) received SEN support and 6 (4.8%) 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 a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
Staffing
Thornley Academy had 9 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Thornley Academy.
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Schools (sw-bound), 100 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Thornley Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Thornley Academy issued 1 suspension, 0.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Thornley Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in September 2024. Before that, as Thornley Primary School (URN 114146), it was rated Good in March 2015.
At a Glance
31.5%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
2024/25 academic year
Class Sizes
17.2
Avg class size
16.3
Infant (KS1)
18.0
KS2
6
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Thornley Academy
Before and after school care
Thornley Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in County Durham
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Thornley Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Thornley Academy is in County Durham; for families living there:
- County Durham's school travel policy: School transport policies and strategies
- How to apply: Apply for free home to school travel
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 4
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 3 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle.
0 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 County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 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 Thornley Academy
Will you get a place at Thornley Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Thornley Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Thornley Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Thornley Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from County Durham, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Thornley Academy for 2025 and 2026 entry.
- How many families in County Durham 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
59%
Available places
123 pupils
210 places
87 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Durham
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Durham
Across County Durham council
Places available
6,581
Applications
4,409
Got 1st preference
97.3%
Got preferred school
99.4%
All primary applications across County Durham council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
42
SEN Support
6
EHC Plans
38.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
124
Total Pupils
77
Boys
47
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
9
Teachers
13.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,037
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,302
Per pupil
£905k
Total funding
£76k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.4%
Overall absence
31.5%
Persistent absence
111
Enrolments
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Thornley Academy
What are SATs results like at Thornley Academy?
Of the pupils at Thornley Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 69% reached the expected standard in reading and 58% did so in maths.
What is Thornley Academy's Ofsted rating?
Thornley Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in September 2024. Before that, as Thornley Primary School (URN 114146), it was rated Good in March 2015.
What is the catchment area for Thornley Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Thornley Academy is oversubscribed, County Durham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Thornley Academy?
Thornley Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 59% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at Thornley Academy?
Classes at Thornley Academy average 17.2 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Thornley Academy?
Thornley Academy has around 124 pupils on roll. 32% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Thornley Academy?
10.4% of sessions were missed at Thornley Academy in 2024/25. 31.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Thornley Academy?
Apply through County Durham's coordinated admissions process, naming Thornley Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Thornley Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Thornley Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school.
How many road collisions happen near Thornley Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 3 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle. 0 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 County Durham is 5 (the median across 280 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Thornley Academy?
Thornley Academy is at Cooper's Terrace, Thornley, Durham, DH6 3DZ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)