Central Academy
Central Academy is a converter academy in Ashington for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Milburn Road, Ashington, NE63 0AX01670 810570central.wiseacademies.co.ukMrs Sarah Wellington executive principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 25 October 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
85 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of Central Primary School, the school this one replaced.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 85 | 118 | 107 | 101 | 87 | 76 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 52% | 45% | 43% | 40% | 34% | 39% | 60% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 0% | 5% | 7% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | 103.0 | 102.0 | 101.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 | 104.5 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | 102.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 | 99.0 | 100.0 | 103.6 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | 102.0 | 102.0 | 101.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 | 103.0 | 103.7 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 65% | 65% | 57% | 52% | 48% | 42% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 62% | 57% | 59% | 64% | 49% | 55% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 73% | 66% | 64% | 60% | 60% | 78% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -4.1 | -5.6 | -6.1 | -6.2 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -3.6 | -4.2 | -6.2 | -5.0 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | 44% | 39% | 35% | 40% | 29% | 35% | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | 69% | 53% | 58% | 39% | 42% | 48% | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
† These results are for Central Primary School, the school this one replaced in March 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At the end of primary school, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Northumberland council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 5.2 square kilometres. Living inside it moves your child up the queue when there are more applicants than places. It doesn't guarantee a place: the council's admissions rules decide the order.
Set your home postcode at the top of the page to see whether you live inside it.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Northumberland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
What a home inside the catchment costs
Every home sold inside the council's catchment area, of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 6.8% | 7.4% | 7.7% | 8.5% | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 2.1% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 5.6% | 3.4% | 2.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 4.6% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 18.4% | 22.7% | 25.0% | 31.5% | 15.5% | 10.8% | 12.8% |
† These attendance figures are for Central Primary School, the school this one replaced in March 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Money
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCEA Thomas Bewick C of E Primary School | Academy | 950 m | 253 | Good 2024 | 19 | Compare |
| St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, Ashington | Academy | 990 m | 238 | Good 2021 | 81 | Compare |
| NCEA James Knott CofE Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 213 | No overall grade 2024 | 47 | Compare |
| Bothal Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | – | Outstanding 2023 | – | Compare |
| NCEA Bishop's Primary School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 448 | Good 2022 | 12 | Compare |
| Stakeford Primary School | Council | 1.2 miles | 162 | Good 2024 | 9 | Compare |
| Ringway Primary School | Council | 1.4 miles | 189 | Good 2024 | 66 | Compare |
| NCEA Grace Darling CofE Primary School | Academy | 1.7 miles | 372 | Good 2024 | 7 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Central Academy a good school?
Central Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in October 2023.
What is Central Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Central Academy good at its last full inspection on 25 October 2023.
How good are Central Academy's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 52% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 4% went further and reached the higher level.
How many pupils does Central Academy have?
The number of pupils is not published.
What is attendance like at Central Academy?
Pupils were in school 93.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Central Academy have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Milburn Road, Ashington, NE63 0AX
- Telephone
- 01670 810570
- Website
- central.wiseacademies.co.uk
- Executive Principal
- Mrs Sarah Wellington
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- WISE Academies (18 schools)
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Ward
- Ashington Central
- Constituency
- Blyth and Ashington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 March 2026 (academy converter)
- URN
- 152255 · LAESTAB 9292531 · UKPRN 10099643
- Formerly
- Central Primary School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Catchment area: Northumberland council open data (Open Government Licence), reprojected to WGS84.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.