School Chooser

Elemore Hall School

Special · ages 11-16MixedCouncil208 pupilsDurhamCounty Durham
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, May 2024
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance67.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families78%Far more than most schools
Places1 spare208 pupils, 209 places
Pupils per teacher6.4School workforce census

Elemore Hall School is a council special school in Durham for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 208 pupils and room for 209. About 78 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Pittington, Elemore Hall School, Durham, DH6 1QD0191 372 0275elemorehallschool.comMr Michael Hunter headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 21 May 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

41 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score7.3
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-2.10In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 9.29.220182019: 9.69.620192022: 7.37.320222023: 7.57.520232024: 7.47.420242025: 7.37.32025
Since 2018: -1.9
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018County DurhamEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11415138441718
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 87.37.47.57.39.69.244.246.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-2.10-2.19-2.53-2.38-2.71
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%41%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%0%0%5%0%0%61%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.320.260.290.350.250.183.754.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%32%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged6.07.65.8
Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged12.76.913.4
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers6.87.06.57.34.9

Subjects

Results came out for 6 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

Subjects that did worse than the England average: English Language (0% here, 54% across England), Mathematics (0% here, 53% across England), Art and Design (19% here, 58% across England).

What is taught here
HumanitiesGeography13

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
Art and Design42 entries
19%England 58%
Mathematics28 entries
0%England 53%
0%England 54%
Geography13 entries
0%England 51%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Art and Design425%19%38%58%
Mathematics280%0%4%53%
English Language280%0%0%54%
Geography130%0%0%51%
Biology90%0%0%82%
Combined Science60%17%33%36%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

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. Every gap at this school is 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 GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreBoys vs girls
7.46.8
Gap 0.6England 3.0
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

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.

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 County Durham council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll208Census January 2026
Places209100% full
Pupils from low-income families78%78% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English0%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%208 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)67%£152,900 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls189 / 19
White British pupils99%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in County Durham with social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (175), Autistic spectrum disorder (17), Moderate learning difficulty (6), Other difficulty or disability (3), language and communications needs (3), Specific learning difficulty (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll20819819918017886
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals78%80%76%72%66%66%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%0%1%0%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 67.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance67.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school64.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils30.82024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission25.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence32.8%36.1%34.8%30.3%20.8%23.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence7.5%8.3%11.2%10.7%7.7%7.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence25.3%27.8%23.6%19.6%13.1%16.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence64.1%70.1%73.4%69.1%58.2%66.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate30.823.133.929.848.8
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00010

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 38 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training61%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 61%, compared with 57% for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training61%73%52%39%
Education50%66%52%28%
Apprenticeship0%5%0%0%
Work11%2%0%11%
Not in education, work or training24%14%19%61%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers32.4full-time equivalent, 33 people
Pupils per teacher6.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers97%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants47.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£58,105
Teachers who left in the year4%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher9.62024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£37,391England £32,258. Total £7.4m
Income per pupil£37,428England £32,367. Total £7.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£13,980England £11,930
Money in reserve15%A healthy amount put by: £1.1m, £5,469 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£7,441it took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£37,391spent per pupil

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

Local crime rate96 per 1,000 people6% higher than the England average
Typical house price£143,000County Durham
Nearest bus stop850 mSchool, 0 stops within 500 m

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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Pittington Primary SchoolCouncil1.4 miles196Good 202268Compare
Easington Lane Primary SchoolCouncil1.4 miles281Good 202342Compare
Hetton Lyons Nursery SchoolLocal authority nursery school1.6 miles110Good 2023Compare
Hetton Lyons Primary SchoolAcademy1.7 miles431Report card 202639Compare
Hetton Primary SchoolCouncil1.8 miles206Good 202427Compare
Ludworth Primary SchoolCouncil1.9 miles84Good 202327Compare
South Hetton PrimaryAcademy1.9 miles202Good 202329Compare
Hetton AcademyAcademy1.9 miles681No overall grade 202472Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Elemore Hall School a good school?

Elemore Hall School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in May 2024.

What is Elemore Hall School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Elemore Hall School good at its last full inspection on 21 May 2024.

How good are Elemore Hall School's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 7.3, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does Elemore Hall School have?

208 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 209 places, so it is 100% full.

What is attendance like at Elemore Hall School?

Pupils were in school 67.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 64% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Elemore Hall School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Pittington, Elemore Hall School, Durham, DH6 1QD
Telephone
0191 372 0275
Website
www.elemorehallschool.com
Headteacher
Mr Michael Hunter
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
County Durham
Ward
Pittington & Sherburn
Constituency
City of Durham
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
114337 · LAESTAB 8407006 · UKPRN 10015476
Formerly
Windlestone School

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from