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Walker Riverside Academy

Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne · NE6 4AW

Data updated

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Requires improvement

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 24 September 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,101 pupils · 85% of 1,301 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
70.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
16.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
18.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.wra.tynecoast.academy
URN
145528

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 276 families named it first for 219 Year 7 places, 1.26 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 0.932 miles; distance decided places in 4 of the 9 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2018 to 2026. At its inspection on 24 September 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Requires improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 12.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.26 first-choice applications per place

219 places offered · 276 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 0.932 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 0.932 miles

measured in a straight line.

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Would you have got in? Check your postcode

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

219 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
35.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
47.5%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
21.9%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.1
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) NE

no pupils entered

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school35.5
Median of its 12 closest peers37
Newcastle upon Tyne average43.3
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Lift GreenwoodBirmingham · 170 miles awayNeeds attention31.8
North Shore AcademyStockton-on-Tees · 30 miles awayStrong standard48.2
Kirkby High SchoolLiverpool · 117 miles awayGood31.4
Dixons Brooklands AcademyManchester · 113 miles awayRequires improvement36.1
Bridge Learning CampusBristol · 251 miles awayNeeds attention34.6
Bishop Challoner Catholic SchoolLondon · 247 miles awayGood44.6
The Albion AcademySalford · 107 miles awayGood47.4
Liberty AcademyHull · 99 miles awayRequires improvement29.2
Lift Unity CityMiddlesbrough · 32 miles awayNeeds attention34.2
Sirius Academy NorthHull · 95 miles awayRequires improvement37.8
Bartley Green SchoolBirmingham · 177 miles awayGood39.9
Harris Academy ClaphamLondon · 251 miles awayGood42.4

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: SEN unit.

SEN unit
12 of 12 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 78% (Newcastle upon Tyne 59%, England 59%) · Black African 4% (Newcastle upon Tyne 6%, England 5%) · Any other White background 4% (Newcastle upon Tyne 5%, England 7%) · Any other Black background 3% (Newcastle upon Tyne 1%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Newcastle upon Tyne 4%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Newcastle upon Tyne 3%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Newcastle upon Tyne 4%, England 3%) · Not recorded 1% (Newcastle upon Tyne 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Newcastle upon Tyne 4%, England 5%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
12.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
33.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

53.34 suspensions per 100 pupils and 8 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Newcastle upon Tyne: 42.07 suspensions and 0.34 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
14.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 3% moved to another state school · 9% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

1.3% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

59.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 8 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £56,404; 6.2% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£9,687
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 12% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (6%) · supplies and services 6% (11%) · educational supplies 4% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 6% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £881,000; in-year balance +£541,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
77%
Continuing in education
70%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
13%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
13%
Any sustained destination
69%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher22%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications28.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work18.7%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways27.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health41%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier35.9%62.3%
Social housing54.5%17.1%
Privately rented8.2%20.5%
Detached houses5.5%22.9%
Flats40.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms3.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van53.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01008436 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£155,000270 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£110,500–£210,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (18)£240,000
Semi-detached (107)£192,000
Terraced (116)£140,000
Flat (29)£82,500

Homes around this school are among the cheapest tenth of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (1.50 km, 2026 entry): 701 sales, median £147,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
16an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
4an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools