A council (local authority) in the North East
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Northumberland at a glance
How Northumberland's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
127 mainstream schools in Northumberland, best first
Results well above the England average.
63 first choices, 58 offers made
Met the standard at 1178%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
7 first choices, 9 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1175%
England 62%
26 mainstream schools in Northumberland, best first
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1175%
England 62%
Results above the England average.
315 first choices, 315 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.1
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
273 first choices, 235 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1653.4
England 46.2
93 in Northumberland, highest Ofsted grade first
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE20 0ET · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Tweedmouth, TD15 2AN · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Seahouses, NE68 7YF · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
23 in Northumberland, by the school's Eduscope score
Results above the England average.
315 first choices, 315 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.1
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
273 first choices, 235 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1653.4
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
270 first choices, 270 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.4
England 46.2
16 in Northumberland. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Choppington, NE62 5DJ · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Hexham, NE46 1UY · Academy · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Blyth, NE24 4RE · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
6 in Northumberland. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Ashington, NE63 8SF · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Netherton Colliery, NE22 6BB · Independent · Secondary · Ages 10 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Morpeth, NE61 6DR · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Northumberland is a unitary authority in the North East with 127 mainstream primary schools and 26 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Blyth, Cramlington and Ashington. It has 11 middle schools, so some children change school at a different age. Most families get the secondary school they want: 96.0% got their first choice, against 83.6% across England.
From Northumberland council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
96.8%got their first-choice primary school in Northumberland in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 13 of 151 councils. 98.6% got one of their top three.0.9% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
96.0%got their first-choice secondary school in Northumberland in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 7 of 151 councils. 97.6% got one of their top three.2.6% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
7 of 24 primary appeals heard in Northumberland succeeded in 2025. 21 of 54 secondary appeals heard in Northumberland succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | Breaks up 23 Oct, back 2 Nov | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | Breaks up 12 Feb, back 22 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | Breaks up 28 May, back 7 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Northumberland school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 68 inspected are Good or better.
93nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
98% Good or better. 58% met the standard at 11.
151schools
Ages 11 to 16
17 Good, 2 need to improve. 42% got grade 5 in English and maths.
42schools
All 13 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
16schools
Here's how Northumberland's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Northumberland average, 47.
Average primary score
48Northumberland 47
Average primary score
42Northumberland 47
Average primary score
30Northumberland 47
Average primary score
62Northumberland 47
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
NorthumberlandEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 101 primaries with one.
98%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
17 of the 19 with a grade.
90%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
58%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
42%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
23%
Latest graded inspection for the 126 schools that have one.
97%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Northumberland in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 97% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 58% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 42.8 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 16.6:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,425 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 91% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 50% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 23% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 3% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 24% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 929, ONS code E06000057.
Northumberland has 266 schools and nurseries across 11 towns and villages, the biggest being Blyth, Cramlington, Ashington and Morpeth.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
23% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Northumberland's state schools each January.
Down 1% since 2018.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Northumberland23%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Northumberland has 266 schools, including 151 primary schools, 42 secondary schools, 93 nurseries, 6 independent schools, 16 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Northumberland on Eduscope are Darras Hall Primary School, Swarland Primary School, Corbridge Middle School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
97% of inspected schools in Northumberland hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 10 schools rated Outstanding and 112 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Northumberland, 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Northumberland is 16.6:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Northumberland is 17.8%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 43,914 pupils enrolled across schools in Northumberland, with 21,736 in primary and 22,178 in secondary. 24.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 6 independent schools in Northumberland. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Northumberland on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 266 schools in Northumberland by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
