Thornley Academy
General Information
- Address: Cooper's Terrace, Thornley, Durham, DH6 3DZ – View on map
- Phone: 01429820280
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Sarah Robson
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 13 families put it first for 13 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 39
- % eligible for free school meals: 35.5%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the County Durham average)
- English as an additional language: 4% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 20% a year (County Durham 13.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across County Durham: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in County Durham, 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: 10.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 31.5%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 33.9%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Specific learning difficulty: 26 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Physical disability: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Physical disability: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 54% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 4% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 8 percentage points below the County Durham average (62%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 40% against an expected 51%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 40%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 69% · Writing 62% · Maths 58% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 77%
- Average test scores: reading 104, maths 101
- Based on: 26 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
Year 6 SATs: joint 129th of 184 junior and primary schools in the area
- =129Ouston Primary School54%
- =129Seaham Trinity Primary School54%
- =129Thornley Academy54%
- =129Tow Law Millennium Primary School54%
- =135Annfield Plain Junior School53%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
118th of 141 primary schools in County Durham for Ofsted rating
- #116Sunnybrow Primary SchoolGood
- #117The Grove Primary SchoolGood
- #118Thornley AcademyGood
- #119Timothy Hackworth Primary SchoolGood
- #120Tow Law Millennium Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £8,374 (2024-25)
72nd of 189 primary schools in County Durham for spending per pupil
- #70Pelton Community Primary School£8,426
- #71Ramshaw Primary School£8,382
- #72Thornley Academy£8,374
- #73Bloemfontein Primary School£8,349
- #74Bishop Ian Ramsey CofE Primary School£8,292
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)