Walker Riverside Academy, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

In its own words: "At Walker Riverside Academy we encourage all to Aim High . Be Proud . Love Life . We have a clear ethos and set of values here at Walker Riverside Academy, which affect the environment and culture you will find in and around our community."

From the headteacher's welcome: "A very warm welcome to Walker Riverside Academy, a fantastic school of which I am extremely proud to be the Headteacher. We are an 11-16 secondary school with over 1,200 students on roll, an excellent local reputation, and an ethos that epitomises the aspirations we have for our young people."

In 2026, pupils at Walker Riverside Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 37.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 42.8 in Newcastle upon Tyne and 47 across England.

30% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Newcastle upon Tyne and 47% in England.

That is up from 35.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.92: pupils made well 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 34.1, against 44.9 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 25 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and Spanish.

For September 2026 entry, 276 families put Walker Riverside Academy as their first choice and 420 named it as one of their preferences, for 219 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 73 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Walker Riverside Academy are Benfield School (0.8 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 31.8); Burnside College (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42); Hebburn Comprehensive School (1.6 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 42); and St Joseph's Catholic Academy (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.2).

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

Walker Riverside Academy is one of 5 schools run by Tyne Coast Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 38.4 in 2024/25.

53 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Walker Riverside Academy (as of September 2025): 83% would recommend the school, 83% say their child is happy there and 60% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (89%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (60%).

Of the 212 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 73% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 67% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 9 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 22% went on to university or other higher education, 11% to apprenticeships and 44% into work.

70.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 264 pupils (24%) received SEN support and 56 (5.1%) 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.

Walker Riverside Academy has a SEN unit for autism: 12 places, 12 pupils on roll.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Walkergate (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 1000 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Waverdale Avenue-Ennerdale Road (n-bound), 210 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Walker Riverside Academy 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, Walker Riverside Academy issued 599 suspensions, 53.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 8 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Walker Riverside Academy are St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Walker (0.2 miles); Tyneview Primary School (0.5 miles); Carville Academy (0.5 miles); and Walkergate Community School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.