Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle School

Northumberland · NE65 7RJ

General information Secondary School · 9-13 years Who goes here 184 pupils, 14.7% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 20.1% on SEN support Behaviour 4.3% absence rate Staff 14.3% turnover Financials £7,275 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle School

General Information

Address: Silverton Lane, Rothbury, Morpeth, NE65 7RJ – View on map
Phone: 01669620287
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Liam Murtagh
Age range: 9-13 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

184 pupils out of 240 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 27
% eligible for free school meals: 14.7%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (similar to the Northumberland average)
English as an additional language: 1% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 14.3% a year (Northumberland 12.7%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 21% moved to another school, 79% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Northumberland: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 39 (1.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 30 (1.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 22 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Northumberland, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 4.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 20.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 11 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

An Attainment 8 score for this school hasn't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

6th of 20 secondary schools in Northumberland for Ofsted rating

#4Bellingham Middle School and Sports CollegeGood
#5Coquet Community SchoolGood
#6Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle SchoolGood
#7Hexham Middle SchoolGood
#8Highfield Middle SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Ashington AcademyGood
#2Bede AcademyGood
#3Bedlington AcademyGood
#4Bellingham Middle School and Sports CollegeGood
#5Coquet Community SchoolGood
#6Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle SchoolGood
#7Hexham Middle SchoolGood
#8Highfield Middle SchoolGood
#9Ovingham Middle SchoolGood
#10Ponteland High SchoolGood
#11Prudhoe Community High SchoolGood
#12Queen Elizabeth High SchoolGood
#13Seaton Sluice Middle SchoolGood
#14Seaton Valley High SchoolGood
#15St Benet Biscop Catholic AcademyGood
#16St Joseph's Catholic Middle School, HexhamGood
#17The Blyth AcademyGood
#18Berwick AcademyRequires improvement
#19NCEA Duke's Secondary SchoolRequires improvement
#20The Duchess's Community High SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,275 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

20th of 27 secondary schools in Northumberland for spending per pupil

#18Bedlington Academy£7,400
#19Ponteland High School£7,361
#20Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle School£7,275
#21Seaton Sluice Middle School£7,183
#22Corbridge Middle School£7,122

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Bellingham Middle School and Sports College£14,226
#2Prudhoe Community High School£9,516
#3Coquet Community School£9,013
#4The Blyth Academy£8,821
#5Seaton Valley High School£8,671
#6Berwick Academy£8,428
#7The Duchess's Community High School£8,338
#8Haydon Bridge High School£8,319
#9St Joseph's Catholic Middle School, Hexham£8,022
#10NCEA Duke's Secondary School£7,972
#11The King Edward VI School£7,965
#12St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy£7,935
#13Queen Elizabeth High School£7,782
#14Whytrig Middle School£7,570
#15Cramlington Learning Village£7,551
#16Highfield Middle School£7,458
#17Ashington Academy£7,435
#18Bedlington Academy£7,400
#19Ponteland High School£7,361
#20Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle School£7,275
#21Seaton Sluice Middle School£7,183
#22Corbridge Middle School£7,122
#23Hexham Middle School£6,883
#24Bede Academy£6,787
#25Ovingham Middle School£6,663
#26Morpeth Chantry Middle School£6,410
#27Morpeth Newminster Middle School£6,315

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

Have you rated Dr Thomlinson Church of England Middle School yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school