Northern Counties School
Northern Counties School is a non-maintained special school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 89 pupils and room for 120. About 42 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.
Tankerville Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 3BB0191 281 5821ncs.percyhedley.org.ukMr Martin Lonergan headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 27 February 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
9 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication.
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 Newcastle upon Tyne with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (47), Hearing impairment (13), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (8), Severe learning difficulty (7), Physical disability (4), language and communications needs (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 89 | 87 | 78 | 86 | 96 | 106 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 43% | 44% | 53% | 38% | 30% | 29% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 12% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 96% | 97% | 97% | 98% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 84.7% 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 | 15.4% | 12.9% | 9.6% | 12.1% | 16.5% | 7.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.1% | 8.1% | 7.7% | 11.1% | 15.0% | 7.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 8.3% | 4.8% | 1.9% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 0.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 35.9% | 36.5% | 33.3% | 36.4% | 54.8% | 22.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 6 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 91% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 91% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 9% | 0% | 0% |
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle High School for Girls GDST | Independent | 190 m | 660 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| West Jesmond Primary School | Foundation | 280 m | 605 | No overall grade 2025 | 99 | Compare |
| Newcastle Preparatory School | Independent | 700 m | 241 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Royal Grammar School | Independent | 730 m | 1,332 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| University of Newcastle Upon Tyne | Higher education institutions | 0.6 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St Catherine's Catholic Primary School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 162 | No overall grade 2025 | 20 | Compare |
| University of Northumbria At Newcastle | Higher education institutions | 0.9 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| South Gosforth First School | Foundation | 0.9 miles | 325 | Good 2022 | 68 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Northern Counties School a good school?
Northern Counties School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in February 2024.
What is Northern Counties School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Northern Counties School good at its last full inspection on 27 February 2024.
How many pupils does Northern Counties School have?
89 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 120 places, so it is 74% full.
What is attendance like at Northern Counties School?
Pupils were in school 84.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 36% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Northern Counties School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Northern Counties School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Tankerville Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 3BB
- Telephone
- 0191 281 5821
- Website
- ncs.percyhedley.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Martin Lonergan
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Ward
- South Jesmond
- Constituency
- Newcastle upon Tyne North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 108551 · LAESTAB 3917004 · UKPRN 10016637
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- 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.
- 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.