School Chooser

Ovingham Middle School

Middle · ages 9-13MixedAcademy344 pupilsPrudhoeNorthumberland
School Chooser Score · secondary phase
73
Above
similar schools
Likely range 55 to 85
Out of 100. Better than 68% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
Primary phase: 69, above similar schools
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, March 2024
Reached the expected level at 1168%England 63%
Attendance95.7%England 91.4%
Pupils from low-income families10%Far fewer than most schools
Places40 spare344 pupils, 384 places
Pupils per teacher18.7School workforce census

Ovingham Middle School is a converter academy in Prudhoe for boys and girls aged 9 to 13. It has 344 pupils and room for 384. About 10 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 73 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 68% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

West Road, Ovingham, Prudhoe, NE42 6DE01661 833215oms.cheviotlt.co.ukMrs Jenny Bullock headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 20 March 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

93 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1168%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level14%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 58%58%20172018: 78%78%20182019: 71%71%20192023: 68%68%20232024: 68%68%20242025: 68%68%2025
Since 2017: +10%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019†2018†2017†NorthumberlandEngland
Pupils tested937788949884
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths68%68%68%71%78%58%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths14%14%16%15%8%8%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0107.0107.0106.0107.0105.0104.5105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0105.0106.0108.0107.0103.0103.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0106.0107.0107.0107.0105.0103.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard85%88%78%79%83%75%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard87%77%83%95%88%67%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)73%83%78%84%87%81%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.4-0.4+0.2-0.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.1+1.0+0.8-2.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged27%44%44%42%54%45%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged73%71%71%76%85%60%

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 Ovingham Middle School, the school this one replaced in September 2019. 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. None of the gaps 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 the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
27%73%
Gap 46 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
62%73%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%14%
Gap 14 ptsEngland 5 pts
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.

Catchment area

Northumberland council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 41 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.

Full345 pupils for 326 places, 2024/25
106% full

The school is full, with 19 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have grown by 6% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

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

Typical sale price inside the catchment£302,500half sold for £200k to £485k
Homes sold170December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district+45%a typical home in the district sells for £209,085

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 a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll344Census January 2026
Places38490% full
Pupils from low-income families10%10% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support22%74 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%19 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.612 classes, January 2026; England 22.8
Classes with more than 30 pupils8%share of one-teacher classes; England 12%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)11%£47,700 extra funding in 2026/27; England 30%
Boys and girls178 / 166
White British pupils93%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (32), Autistic spectrum disorder (30), Specific learning difficulty (21), language and communications needs (8), Hearing impairment (1), Physical disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll344347340335323321
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals10%10%11%10%8%8%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language2%1%2%2%1%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%11%9%7%7%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%3%4%3%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.

Attendance95.7%
England 91.4%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school8.3%
England 23.9%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils6.92024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.3%5.9%5.2%6.5%3.2%3.9%8.6%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.5%4.8%4.3%5.6%3.0%3.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.8%1.1%1.0%0.8%0.2%0.7%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence8.3%13.6%14.6%18.5%4.5%6.6%23.9%
SuspensionsSuspension rate6.99.18.73.40.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

† These attendance figures are for Ovingham Middle School, the school this one replaced in September 2019. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers18.4full-time equivalent, 21 people
Pupils per teacher18.7Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants9.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,779
Teachers who left in the year17%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.82024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,663England £7,965. Total £2.3m
Income per pupil£6,801England £8,423. Total £2.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,839England £4,444
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £159k, £459 per pupil. England 10%
Money in against money out+£48kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,663spent 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 m2712 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate48 per 1,000 people47% lower than the England average
Typical house price£207,950Northumberland
Nearest bus stop50 mMiddle School, 4 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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Ovingham Church of England First SchoolAcademy110 m107Good 202365Compare
Prudhoe Castle First SchoolAcademy810 m74No overall grade 202574Compare
Prudhoe West AcademyAcademy0.8 miles233Report card 202679Compare
St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, PrudhoeAcademy0.9 miles144Good 202385Compare
Highfield Middle SchoolAcademy0.9 miles365Good 202463Compare
Mickley First SchoolAcademy1.0 miles61Good 202456Compare
Prudhoe Community High SchoolAcademy1.2 miles680Good 202351Compare
Adderlane AcademyAcademy1.3 miles107Good 201956Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ovingham Middle School with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats68%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 73 is 7 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 66 · highest 95100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Ovingham Middle School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Joseph's Catholic Middle School, HexhamAcademy9.7 miles168Good 202380Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 73 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 73% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 55 to 85. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.04
Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.35
2024/25; 351 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
What pupils do next0%no data
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Ovingham Middle School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Ovingham Middle School scores 73 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 68% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 55 to 85, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Ovingham Middle School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Ovingham Middle School good at its last full inspection on 20 March 2024.

How good are Ovingham Middle School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 68% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 14% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Ovingham Middle School have?

344 pupils aged 9 to 13 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 384 places, so it is 90% full.

Is Ovingham Middle School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 19 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at Ovingham Middle School?

Pupils were in school 95.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 8% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Ovingham Middle School?

The average class had 26.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 8% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Ovingham Middle School have a sixth form?

No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.

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

Contact and details

Address
West Road, Ovingham, Prudhoe, NE42 6DE
Telephone
01661 833215
Website
oms.cheviotlt.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Jenny Bullock
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Middle school, ages 9-13
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Cheviot Learning Trust (18 schools)
Local authority
Northumberland
Ward
Stocksfield & Bywell
Constituency
Hexham
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2019 (academy converter)
URN
146894 · LAESTAB 9294199 · UKPRN 10084163
Formerly
Ovingham Middle School

Where these figures come from