Hermitage Academy
Secondary school · Academy converter · ages 11 to 18 · Mixed
Waldridge Lane, Chester le Street, DH2 3AD
- Pupils881
- Ages11 to 18
- Latest Ofsted12 Mar 2024
- FundingState-funded
Ofsted inspections
Shown exactly as Ofsted published them, each with its own date.
Graded inspection · 12 Mar 2024
Overall effectiveness: Good
- Quality of educationGood
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Leadership and managementGood
- Sixth form provisionGood
- Safeguarding is effectiveYes
Grades run from Outstanding to Inadequate (four steps, left to right).
S5 Inspection · report published 19 May 2024
Read the full reports on Ofsted’s website (opens in a new tab) — they explain the reasons behind each grade.
Source: Ofsted, state-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (latest inspections as at 30 September 2026). Newer inspections may be on Ofsted’s website. How Ofsted inspections work.
Results
GCSE results (end of Year 11, key stage 4)
Latest: 2025/26 (provisional) · 173 pupils. Each figure shows its year. What these mean
2025/26 results are provisional: the DfE will revise them (next update due February 2027). The provisional data has no EBacc figures, so EBacc is from an earlier year.
Attainment 8 score
Each pupil’s results across 8 qualifications (maths counts double, and English usually does too), averaged across the school. It partly reflects pupils’ starting points.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “strong pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “standard pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Progress 8 score
Compares pupils’ Attainment 8 results with pupils across England who had similar results at the end of primary school. 0 means about the same; above 0 means more progress, below 0 less. How to read Progress 8.
2023/24 — the latest year with Progress 8
+0.12
The DfE gives a range of −0.08 to +0.33 (95% confidence interval). The range includes 0, so we can’t say it differs from the national average.
DfE banding: Average
County Durham, same year: −0.14
England (state-funded schools), same year: −0.03
The Department for Education says Progress 8 can’t be calculated for 2024/25 or 2025/26, because those pupils had no key stage 2 test results (the tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19). Progress 8 is a relative, in-year measure, so it can’t be compared directly year on year.
Entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
Pupils entered for all 5 EBacc “pillars”: English, maths, science, history or geography, and a language.
2024/25
EBacc average point score
Pupils’ point scores across the 5 EBacc pillars.
2024/25
Earlier years
| Year | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ English & maths | Grade 4+ English & maths | Progress 8 | EBacc entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 50.1 | 49.7% | 71.7% | Not available | – |
| 2024/25 | 49.1 | 43.1% | 69.9% | Not available | 64.7% |
| 2023/24 | 48 | 48.6% | 69.9% | +0.12 | 63.9% |
Results describe a different group of pupils each year. Progress 8 is a relative measure and can’t be compared year on year.
Sixth form results (16 to 18)
2024/25 · 63 students. What these mean
A level average grade
Not shown
Not shown, to protect pupils’ privacy (small numbers).
Average point score per entry: 31.08 · County Durham: 35.7 · England (state-funded schools): 35
Applied general qualifications: average grade
Dist
A level progress (value added)
How well students did in their A levels compared with students across England with similar earlier results. 0 is about the same.
2024/25
−0.06
The DfE gives a range of −0.25 to +0.14 (95% confidence interval). The range includes 0, so we can’t say it differs from the national average.
Progress band: Average (published as a number from 1 to 5; how we word it)
AAB or better at A level, with at least 2 facilitating subjects
A level students retained to the end of their course
Results describe one group of pupils in one year, so they can change a lot — especially in small schools. The DfE says “conclusions should not be drawn on a single piece of data alone.” This school on the DfE’s performance tables (opens in a new tab).
Source: Department for Education, school performance tables and Explore education statistics (key stage 4, 2025/26 provisional). England and local authority figures are the DfE’s own, for the same year.
Pupils and attendance
- Pupils
- 881 (capacity 1,050)
448 girls, 433 boys - Eligible for free school meals
- 30.5% (currently eligible, census of January 2026)
Pupils with SEN support
Special educational needs, without an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
2024/25
Pupils with an EHC plan
An education, health and care plan sets out the support a child must get.
2024/25
Eligible for free school meals at any time in the last 6 years
2024/25
First language not English
This is not a measure of how well pupils speak English.
2024/25
Attendance
Overall absence
The share of possible mornings and afternoons missed, for any reason (authorised or not).
2024/25
Persistent absence
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions.
2024/25
Sources: Get Information about Schools; DfE school census and absence statistics via the performance tables. What these figures mean.
About the school
- Type
- Academy converter (Academies)
- Phase
- Secondary
- Trust
- NORTH EAST LEARNING TRUST
- Sponsor
- North East Learning Trust
- Boys, girls or mixed
- Mixed
- Opened
- 1 September 2019
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Parliamentary constituency
- North Durham
- URN
- 147531 (the DfE’s reference number for the school)
Source: Get Information about Schools (Department for Education). See the full record (opens in a new tab).
Admissions
For a place at the usual starting age you apply through your home council (where you live), even if the school is in another area — not to the school. You can usually name several schools in order of preference.
Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK)
How school admissions work: deadlines, oversubscription and appeals.