A town in South Tyneside
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
South Shields at a glance
How South Shields'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.
17 mainstream schools in South Shields, best first
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
South Shields, NE33 4PG · Academy · Primary · Ages 3 to 11
Results well above the England average.
33 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
26 first choices, 26 offers made
Met the standard at 1186%
England 62%
3 mainstream schools in South Shields, best first
Results close to the England average.
127 first choices, 182 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.0
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
290 first choices, 266 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.2
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
269 first choices, 239 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1640.7
England 46.2
16 in South Shields, highest Ofsted grade first
South Shields, NE33 2LS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
South Shields, NE34 8AB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
South Shields, NE33 4JT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
3 in South Shields, by the school's Eduscope score
Results close to the England average.
127 first choices, 182 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.0
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
290 first choices, 266 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.2
England 46.2
South Shields, NE34 8BT · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
3 in South Shields. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
South Shields, NE34 7TD · Special · All-through · Ages 3 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
South Shields, NE34 8BT · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
South Shields, NE34 0QA · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 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.
Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every South Shields school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 15 inspected are Good or better.
16nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 62% met the standard at 11.
20schools
Ages 11 to 16
The one inspected is Good or better. 41% got grade 5 in English and maths.
7schools
All 2 inspected are Good or better. About 9 pupils per teacher.
3schools
Here's how South Shields's schools break down by type, faith and more.
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.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
South ShieldsEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 13 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
1 of the 1 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
62%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
41%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
21%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
40%
Latest graded inspection for the 17 schools that have one.
100%
Good or Outstanding
South Shields in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
South Shields has 40 schools and nurseries.
There are 5% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
40% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in South Shields's state schools each January.
Up 5% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
South Shields40%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
South Shields has 40 schools, including 20 primary schools, 7 secondary schools, 16 nurseries, 3 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in South Shields on Eduscope are Biddick Hall Junior School, St Bede's Catholic Primary School, South Shields, Stanhope Primary 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.
100% of inspected schools in South Shields hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 2 schools rated Outstanding and 15 rated Good.
Across primary schools in South Shields, 62% 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 South Shields is 16.5:1. 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 South Shields is 21.4%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 10,123 pupils enrolled across schools in South Shields, with 5,496 in primary and 4,627 in secondary. 38.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 40 schools in South Shields 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.
