John Spence Community High School

North Tyneside · NE29 9PU

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 872 pupils, 51.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Requires improvement

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 19.4% on SEN support Behaviour 9.5% absence rate Staff 7.2% turnover Financials £9,378 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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John Spence Community High School

General Information

Address: Preston Road, North Shields, NE29 9PU – View on map
Phone: 01912961432
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Jonathan Heath
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 104 families put it first for 166 places – 6 for every 10 places. 98% of them were offered a place. 2 of the 166 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2024 8 · 2025 8 · 2026 6
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

872 pupils out of 885 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 447
% eligible for free school meals: 51.3%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the North Tyneside average)
English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 7.2% a year (North Tyneside 10.1%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 23% moved to another school, 77% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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 North Tyneside: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 23 (1.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 35 (2.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 12 (0.8 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 North Tyneside, 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: 9.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.1%
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

Resourced provision for Moderate learning difficulties

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 19.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 64 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 40 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 26 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 18 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 14 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Moderate learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 3 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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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Requires improvement 2023 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.

Attainment 8 score: 41.0
Compared with the area: 7.4 points below the North Tyneside average (48.4)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (+0.3 points against an expected 40.7)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 50% (North Tyneside 68%, England 65%) Falling
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 schoolNorth Tyneside averageEngland↘ Falling Down 2.3 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 7.4 points below the North Tyneside average (48.4).

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.

10th of 11 secondary schools in North Tyneside for Attainment 8

#8Norham High School42.7
#9Longbenton High School41.7
#10John Spence Community High School41.0
#11Monkseaton High School41.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Kings Priory School57.1
#2Marden High School55.1
#3Whitley Bay High School54.2
#4St Thomas More Catholic High School49.6
#5George Stephenson High School48.0
#6Burnside College44.2
#7North Gosforth Academy43.9
#8Norham High School42.7
#9Longbenton High School41.7
#10John Spence Community High School41.0
#11Monkseaton High School41.0

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 88.0%
Went into further education: 79.0%
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

English Language
Maths (General)
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
Geography
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Religious Studies
D & T
Sports Studies
Food Technology
Speech & Drama
Art & Design
French Language
Business Studies

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.

View full Ofsted inspection report

12th of 12 secondary schools in North Tyneside for Ofsted rating

#10St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolGood
#11Wellfield Middle SchoolGood
#12John Spence Community High SchoolRequires 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

#1Whitley Bay High SchoolOutstanding
#2Burnside CollegeGood
#3George Stephenson High SchoolGood
#4Kings Priory SchoolGood
#5Longbenton High SchoolGood
#6Marden Bridge Middle SchoolGood
#7Marden High SchoolGood
#8Monkseaton Coastal SchoolGood
#9Norham High SchoolGood
#10St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolGood
#11Wellfield Middle SchoolGood
#12John Spence Community High SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £9,378 (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.

3rd of 15 secondary schools in North Tyneside for spending per pupil

#1Norham High School£10,950
#2Monkseaton High School£9,416
#3John Spence Community High School£9,378
#4Burnside College£9,037
#5North Gosforth Academy£8,924

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

#1Norham High School£10,950
#2Monkseaton High School£9,416
#3John Spence Community High School£9,378
#4Burnside College£9,037
#5North Gosforth Academy£8,924
#6Monkseaton Coastal School£8,036
#7Longbenton High School£7,517
#8George Stephenson High School£7,474
#9Marden High School£7,153
#10St Thomas More Catholic High School£7,130
#11Kings Priory School£6,803
#12Whitley Bay High School£6,696
#13Wellfield Middle School£6,644
#14Marden Bridge Middle School£6,533
#15Valley Gardens Middle School£6,432

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 North Tyneside: 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 ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered