School Chooser

Mary Astell Academy

Pupil referral unit / alternative provision · ages 5-16MixedAcademy alternative provision sponsor led37 pupilsNewcastle-upon-TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, September 2024
Pupils from low-income families92%Far more than most schools
Places243 spare37 pupils, 280 places
Pupils per teacher5.1School workforce census
Pupils on roll37Census January 2026

Mary Astell Academy is an academy alternative provision sponsor led in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for boys and girls aged 5 to 16. It has 37 pupils and room for 280. About 92 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Linhope Road, West Denton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE5 2LW0191 267 4447maryastellacademy.co.ukMrs Andrea Spowart headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 September 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

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

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 Newcastle upon Tyne council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll37Census January 2026
Places28013% full
Pupils from low-income families92%92% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English14%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support68%25 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan22%8 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)60%£24,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls23 / 14
White British pupils78%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (27), Moderate learning difficulty (3), language and communications needs (2), Specific learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll373267644853
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals92%97%81%52%65%72%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language14%9%6%2%8%4%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support81%61%67%65%83%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans16%18%14%19%11%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 14 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training36%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 27%, compared with – for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers
Still in education, work or training36%39%19%
Education29%39%16%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%
Work7%0%3%
Not in education, work or training36%39%43%

Staff and money

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

Teachers10.8full-time equivalent, 11 people
Pupils per teacher5.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants5.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£60,203
Teachers who left in the year40%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher16.02024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£41,269England £7,128. Total £2.1m
Income per pupil£33,846England £7,587. Total £1.8m
Spent on teachers per pupil£23,519England £3,405
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £200k, £3,843 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out-£386kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£41,269spent 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

Crimes within 500 m48112 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate122 per 1,000 people34% higher than the England average
Typical house price£201,000Newcastle upon Tyne
Nearest bus stop280 mWest Denton Way-Social Club, 12 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
Thomas Bewick SchoolAcademy0 m383Good 2023Compare
Beech Hill Primary SchoolAcademy100 m441Good 202363Compare
Studio WestStudio schools340 m496No overall grade 20241Compare
Farne Primary SchoolAcademy760 m239Good 202461Compare
Westerhope Primary SchoolAcademy890 m426Not inspected74Compare
St Mark's Catholic Primary School, WesterhopeAcademy910 m223Good 202462Compare
West Denton Primary SchoolAcademy0.6 miles316Good 202320Compare
St John Vianney Catholic Primary School, West DentonAcademy0.7 miles426Good 202478Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Mary Astell Academy a good school?

Mary Astell Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in September 2024.

What is Mary Astell Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Mary Astell Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 24 September 2024.

How many pupils does Mary Astell Academy have?

37 pupils aged 5 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 280 places, so it is 13% full.

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

Contact and details

Address
Linhope Road, West Denton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE5 2LW
Telephone
0191 267 4447
Website
www.maryastellacademy.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Andrea Spowart
Type of school
Academy alternative provision sponsor led (Academy alternative provision sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 5-16
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Prosper Learning Trust (5 schools)
Local authority
Newcastle upon Tyne
Ward
Denton & Westerhope
Constituency
Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2018 (new provision)
URN
144358 · LAESTAB 3911106 · UKPRN 10066059
Formerly
Linhope PRU

Where these figures come from