St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College

General Information

Address: Westway, Peterlee, SR8 1DE
Phone: 01915876220
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Frances Cessford
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Number of pupils: 891
School capacity: 1100
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 321
% eligible for free school meals: 39.1%
Nursery provision: No

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.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 28.8%
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.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 17.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 47 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 40 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 26 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 18 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 12 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 15 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 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 –

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

Good 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.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 44.5
Data year: 2024/25

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.

Ranked #21 of 32 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#19St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester44.9
#20Wolsingham School44.7
#21St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College44.5
#22Consett Academy44.2
#23King James I Academy Bishop Auckland43.9

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham57.7
#2Tanfield School57.5
#3Durham Johnston Comprehensive School55.2
#4Belmont Community School53.4
#5The Academy at Shotton Hall52.2
#6Easington Academy51.8
#7Sedgefield Community College51.5
#8Whitworth Park Academy50.4
#9Teesdale School and Sixth Form49.6
#10Hermitage Academy49.1
#11Woodham Academy48.2
#12Wellfield School47.8
#13Parkside Academy46.9
#14Park View School46.4
#15St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College46.4
#16Seaham High School45.8
#17Staindrop Academy45.6
#18Framwellgate School Durham45.2
#19St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester44.9
#20Wolsingham School44.7
#21St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College44.5
#22Consett Academy44.2
#23King James I Academy Bishop Auckland43.9
#24Ferryhill School41.5
#25Dene Academy41.4
#26North Durham Academy39.8
#27Bishop Barrington Academy39.4
#28UTC South Durham39.2
#29Durham Academy37.4
#30Greenfield Academy35.7
#31East Durham College12.1
#32Bishop Auckland College4.6

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 87.0%
Went into further education: 78.0%
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

Religious Studies
Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
Spanish
History
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Art & Design
Computer Science
D & T
Music Studies (General)
Polish

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

Ranked #14 of 24 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#12Parkside AcademyGood
#13Seaham High SchoolGood
#14St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form CollegeGood
#15St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form CollegeGood
#16St Leonard's Catholic School, DurhamGood

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.

#1Sedgefield Community CollegeOutstanding
#2The Academy at Shotton HallOutstanding
#3Belmont Community SchoolGood
#4Bishop Barrington AcademyGood
#5Consett AcademyGood
#6Dene AcademyGood
#7Easington AcademyGood
#8Ferryhill SchoolGood
#9Hermitage AcademyGood
#10King James I Academy Bishop AucklandGood
#11North Durham AcademyGood
#12Parkside AcademyGood
#13Seaham High SchoolGood
#14St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form CollegeGood
#15St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form CollegeGood
#16St Leonard's Catholic School, DurhamGood
#17Staindrop AcademyGood
#18UTC South DurhamGood
#19Whitworth Park AcademyGood
#20Wolsingham SchoolGood
#21Woodham AcademyGood
#22Durham AcademyRequires improvement
#23Greenfield AcademyRequires improvement
#24St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, LanchesterRequires improvement

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £8,112 (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.

Ranked #18 of 31 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#16Wolsingham School£8,208
#17Framwellgate School Durham£8,126
#18St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College£8,112
#19St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester£8,042
#20St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College£7,973

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.

#1UTC South Durham£9,922
#2Bishop Barrington Academy£9,818
#3Dene Academy£9,699
#4Ferryhill School£9,523
#5King James I Academy Bishop Auckland£9,477
#6Durham Academy£9,295
#7Greenfield Academy£8,788
#8Parkside Academy£8,738
#9Sedgefield Community College£8,713
#10Belmont Community School£8,503
#11Staindrop Academy£8,438
#12The Academy at Shotton Hall£8,432
#13North Durham Academy£8,395
#14Woodham Academy£8,393
#15Tanfield School£8,212
#16Wolsingham School£8,208
#17Framwellgate School Durham£8,126
#18St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College£8,112
#19St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester£8,042
#20St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College£7,973
#21Hermitage Academy£7,965
#22Seaham High School£7,954
#23Easington Academy£7,864
#24Whitworth Park Academy£7,842
#25Wellfield School£7,823
#26Park View School£7,748
#27St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham£7,734
#28Durham Johnston Comprehensive School£7,281
#29Consett Academy£7,237
#30Teesdale School and Sixth Form£7,087
#31Durham Sixth Form Centre£6,666

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

General Information

Behaviour

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