Thornaby Academy
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Thornaby Academy is a sponsored academy in Stockton-on-Tees for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 443 pupils and room for 790. About 66 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 25 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 76% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in February 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Baysdale Road, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9DB01642 763244tca.northerneducationtrust.orgKendra Brownless headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 10 February 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 6 June 2023 | Academy First Section 5 | Requires improvement |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
80 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019† | 2018† | Stockton-on-Tees | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 80 | 85 | 64 | 72 | 72 | 71 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 40.9 | 36.8 | 33.9 | 38.1 | 34.7 | 35.7 | 45.4 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.36 | -0.51 | -0.50 | -0.63 | -0.89 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 48% | 37% | 25% | 32% | 19% | 27% | 48% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 63% | 57% | 39% | 51% | 42% | 46% | 67% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.82 | 3.34 | 2.85 | 3.12 | 3.08 | 3.18 | 4.00 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 21% | 18% | 23% | 7% | 51% | 46% | 38% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 39.9 | 35.2 | 26.3 | 35.5 | 27.7 | 29.6 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 42.6 | 40.7 | 46.7 | 45.8 | 43.0 | 44.6 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 25.8 | 20.7 | 28.7 | 25.9 | 19.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 41.9 | – | – | 48.1 | 48.0 | – | – |
† These results are for Thornaby Academy, the school this one replaced in September 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Subjects
Results came out for 8 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.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Art and Design (21% here, 58% across England), Geography (37% here, 51% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 80 | 16% | 48% | 66% | 53% | 1,887 of 3,211 |
| English Literature | 80 | 31% | 69% | 76% | 58% | 688 of 3,202 |
| English Language | 80 | 20% | 64% | 71% | 54% | 751 of 3,210 |
| Combined Science | 76 | 13% | 51% | 63% | 36% | 507 of 3,084 |
| Geography | 41 | 12% | 37% | 46% | 51% | 2,301 of 3,116 |
| History | 35 | 17% | 49% | 57% | 52% | 1,708 of 3,126 |
| Art and Design | 29 | 0% | 21% | 52% | 58% | 2,691 of 2,818 |
| Spanish | 17 | 24% | 71% | 88% | 54% | – |
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. 2 of the 3 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 GCSE, 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.
274 places were empty (37% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 20% since 2021/22.
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 Stockton-on-Tees council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 12 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for secondary schools with enough answers to publish.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 10 pupils, for other needs.
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 Stockton-on-Tees with other needs provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (36), emotional and mental health (29), language and communications needs (12), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (4), Vision impairment (4).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 443 | 478 | 492 | 454 | 397 | 375 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 66% | 66% | 63% | 62% | 55% | 53% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 13% | 13% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 6% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 15% | 17% | 22% | 22% | 20% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 5% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 14.8% | 16.2% | 13.2% | 11.6% | 10.5% | 9.0% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.4% | 4.6% | 3.8% | 3.2% | 5.4% | 3.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 10.5% | 11.5% | 9.4% | 8.4% | 5.2% | 5.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 42.2% | 48.4% | 42.4% | 33.7% | 30.1% | 25.6% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 233.1 | 188.8 | 86.3 | 55.7 | 62.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Thornaby Academy, the school this one replaced in September 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 64 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 84% | 75% | 78% |
| Education | 75% | 71% | 70% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 3% | 8% |
| Work | 5% | 1% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 6% | 17% | 16% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
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.
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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Patrick's Catholic College, A Voluntary Catholic Academy | Academy | 180 m | 567 | Report card 2026 | 25 | Compare |
| Acklam Grange School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 1,452 | Good 2022 | 68 | Compare |
| Outwood Academy Acklam | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,201 | No overall grade 2025 | 44 | Compare |
| Macmillan Academy | Academy | 1.9 miles | 1,586 | Good 2022 | 44 | Compare |
| All Saints Church of England Academy | Academy | 2.1 miles | 873 | No overall grade 2024 | 85 | Compare |
| Ingleby Manor Free School | Free school | 2.4 miles | 698 | Good 2022 | 77 | Compare |
| North Shore Academy | Academy | 2.4 miles | 850 | Report card 2026 | 53 | Compare |
| Trinity Catholic College | Academy | 2.4 miles | 1,270 | No overall grade 2024 | 18 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Thornaby Academy 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.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 25 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 25% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 18 to 36. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | below | -0.18 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 80 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.00 | Ofsted report card, 0.6 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | below | -0.19 | DfE progress measure; 80 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | above | +0.09 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.24 | 2024/25; 552 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well above | +0.21 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 80 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | well below | -0.07 | 64 pupils |
| What parents say | 5% | below | -0.04 | Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 12 responses |
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 Thornaby Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Thornaby Academy scores 25 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 76% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 18 to 36, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Thornaby Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 10 February 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as strong.
How good are Thornaby Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 48% 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 40.9, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about half a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Thornaby Academy have?
443 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 790 places, so it is 56% full.
Is Thornaby Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 274 places were empty in 2024/25 (37% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Thornaby Academy?
Pupils were in school 85.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 42% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about Thornaby Academy?
42% of the 12 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 33% say their child is happy there. Across England, 77% of parents would recommend their child's school.
How big are the classes at Thornaby Academy?
The average class had 20.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 14% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Thornaby Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for other needs. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Thornaby Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 84% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Baysdale Road, Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, TS17 9DB
- Telephone
- 01642 763244
- Website
- tca.northerneducationtrust.org
- Headteacher
- Kendra Brownless
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Northern Education Trust (30 schools)
- Local authority
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Ward
- Village
- Constituency
- Stockton West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2020 (fresh start)
- URN
- 148186 · LAESTAB 8084010 · UKPRN 10086931
- Formerly
- Thornaby Academy
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.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- 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.