Excelsior Academy

Newcastle upon Tyne · NE15 6AF

General information All-through School · 3-19 years Who goes here 1339 pupils, 74.5% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Requires improvement

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 25.8% on SEN support Behaviour 10.3% absence rate Staff 16.2% turnover Financials £9,978 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Excelsior Academy

General Information

Address: Denton Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE15 6AF – View on map
Phone: 01912288400
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Mark Foster
Age range: 3-19 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 171 families put it first for 240 places – 7 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 240 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 6 · 2024 5 · 2025 6 · 2026 7
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

1339 pupils out of 1710 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 923
% eligible for free school meals: 74.5%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Newcastle upon Tyne average)
English as an additional language: 54% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.2% a year (Newcastle upon Tyne 12.9%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 54% moved to another school, 46% 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 Newcastle upon Tyne: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 27 (1.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 39 (2.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 28 (1.5 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 Newcastle upon Tyne, 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: 10.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 32.5%
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: 25.8%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 114 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 109 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 60 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 32 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 11 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 14 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Hearing impairment: 2 pupils

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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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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.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Requires improvement 2024 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.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 33.4
Compared with the area: 11.8 points below the Newcastle upon Tyne average (45.2)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−0.6 points against an expected 34.0)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 40% (Newcastle upon Tyne 65%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolNewcastle upon Tyne averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 11.8 points below the Newcastle upon Tyne average (45.2).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

11th of 12 all-through schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for Attainment 8

#9North East Futures UTC35.4
#10Benfield School33.5
#11Excelsior Academy33.4
#12Studio West30.9

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Mary's Catholic School58.9
#2Gosforth Academy54.4
#3Sacred Heart Catholic High School52.1
#4Jesmond Park Academy51.4
#5St Cuthbert's High School49.0
#6Walbottle Academy46.6
#7Kenton School38.7
#8Walker Riverside Academy35.5
#9North East Futures UTC35.4
#10Benfield School33.5
#11Excelsior Academy33.4
#12Studio West30.9

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 77.0%
Went into further education: 75.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
Spanish
History
Art & Design
Business Studies
Photography
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
Urdu
Arabic
Italian
Portuguese
Polish
German
Chemistry (General)
Turkish
Biology
Physics (General)
French Language

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 55% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 11 percentage points below the Newcastle upon Tyne average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 40% against an expected 56%)
3-year average (expected standard): 40%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 73% · Writing 59% · Maths 73% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 45%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 101
Based on: 22 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolNewcastle upon Tyne averageEngland↗ Improving Up 22 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 11 percentage points below the Newcastle upon Tyne average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: 51st of 64 junior and primary schools in the area

=45West Newcastle Academy57%
#50Central Walker Church of England Primary School56%
#51Excelsior Academy55%
#52Westgate Hill Primary Academy54%
=53English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Fenham52%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Throckley Primary School87%
#2Newburn Manor Primary School86%
#3West Jesmond Primary School84%
=4Cragside Primary School83%
=4Knop Law Primary School83%
=4St Charles' Catholic Primary School83%
#7Hilton Primary Academy80%
=8Beech Hill Primary School79%
=8Benton Park Primary School79%
=10Milecastle Primary School77%
=10St John Vianney Catholic Primary School, West Denton77%
=10St Lawrence's Catholic Primary School77%
=10St Vincents Catholic Primary School, Newcastle77%
=10Thomas Walling Primary Academy77%
=10Tyneview Primary School77%
#16Walbottle Village Primary School75%
#17Waverley Primary School74%
=18Farne Primary School73%
=18Ravenswood Primary School73%
=18St Michael's Catholic Primary School73%
=18St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Gosforth73%
#22Atkinson Road Primary Academy72%
=23St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Heaton70%
=23Westerhope Primary School70%
=25Hawthorn Primary School69%
=25St Paul's CofE Primary School69%
=25Walkergate Community School69%
=28Sacred Heart Primary School68%
=28St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School68%
=28St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Benwell68%
=31St George's Catholic Primary School, Bells Close67%
=31Stocksfield Avenue Primary School67%
=33Cheviot Primary School66%
=33St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Kenton66%
=33St Mark's Catholic Primary School, Westerhope66%
=36Christ Church CofE Primary School65%
=36Kingston Park Primary School65%
=36Welbeck Academy65%
=39Bridgewater Primary School64%
=39Byker Primary School64%
#41Simonside Primary School63%
=42Chillingham Road Primary School60%
=42Wyndham Primary School60%
#44Wingrove Primary School59%
=45Kenton Bar Primary School57%
=45North Fawdon Primary School57%
=45Our Lady and St Anne's Catholic Primary School57%
=45St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Newcastle57%
=45West Newcastle Academy57%
#50Central Walker Church of England Primary School56%
#51Excelsior Academy55%
#52Westgate Hill Primary Academy54%
=53English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Fenham52%
=53Hotspur Primary School52%
=53Lemington Riverside Primary School52%
=56St Johns Primary School50%
=56West Walker Primary School50%
#58West Denton Primary School48%
#59Canning Street Primary School47%
#60Mountfield Primary School44%
=61Broadwood Primary School39%
=61Moorside Primary School39%
#63St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Walker37%
#64St Catherine's Catholic Primary School33%

View full Ofsted inspection report

11th of 11 all-through schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for Ofsted rating

#9St Cuthbert's High SchoolGood
#10Walbottle AcademyGood
#11Excelsior AcademyRequires improvement

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

#1St Mary's Catholic SchoolOutstanding
#2Callerton AcademyGood
#3Gosforth AcademyGood
#4Gosforth Central Middle SchoolGood
#5Gosforth East Middle SchoolGood
#6Gosforth Junior High AcademyGood
#7Great Park AcademyGood
#8Jesmond Park AcademyGood
#9St Cuthbert's High SchoolGood
#10Walbottle AcademyGood
#11Excelsior AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £9,978 (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.

1st of 17 all-through schools in Newcastle upon Tyne for spending per pupil

#1Excelsior Academy£9,978
#2Studio West£9,689
#3Walker Riverside Academy£9,687

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

#1Excelsior Academy£9,978
#2Studio West£9,689
#3Walker Riverside Academy£9,687
#4Kenton School£9,664
#5Benfield School£9,569
#6North East Futures UTC£9,075
#7Callerton Academy£8,489
#8Sacred Heart Catholic High School£8,193
#9St Cuthbert's High School£8,116
#10Walbottle Academy£7,640
#11Gosforth Academy£7,626
#12St Mary's Catholic School£7,511
#13Jesmond Park Academy£7,484
#14Gosforth Junior High Academy£6,907
#15Great Park Academy£6,856
#16Gosforth Central Middle School£6,736
#17Gosforth East Middle School£6,673

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

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Newcastle upon Tyne: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Year 6 SATs ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered