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St Bede's Catholic School and Byron Sixth Form College

Secondary · Peterlee · SR8 1DE

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 14 June 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

891 pupils · 81% of 1,100 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
39.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
14.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
https://www.st-bedes.org/
URN
148304

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 103 families named it first for 107 Year 7 places, 0.96 first choices per place. We hold 4 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 14 June 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 10.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.96 first-choice applications per place

107 places offered · 103 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
44.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
60.5%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
42.1%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.9
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-) C
28.6
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school44.5
Median of its 12 closest peers45.4
County Durham average46.6
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
De Lacy AcademyKnottingley · 73 miles awayExpected standard45.6
Christ's CollegeSunderland · 10 miles awayGood43.2
St Benet Biscop Catholic AcademyBedlington · 28 miles awayGood41.3
St Luke's Church of England SchoolExeter · 292 miles awayGood45.3
Ash Hill AcademyDONCASTER · 83 miles awayGood46.9
Burnside CollegeWallsend · 18 miles awayGood44.2
Bedlington AcademyBedlington · 28 miles awayGood47.4
Irlam and Cadishead AcademyManchester · 101 miles awayGood43.6
Sacred Heart Catholic SecondaryRedcar · 15 miles awayGood50.4
Bedford High SchoolLeigh · 99 miles awayGood45.5
Poltair SchoolSt Austell · 337 miles awayGood47.4
Broughton Hall Catholic High SchoolLiverpool · 111 miles awayGood39.2

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 88% (County Durham 90%, England 59%) · Black African 4% (County Durham 1%, England 5%) · Any other White background 3% (County Durham 2%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 2% (County Durham 1%, England 4%) · Any other Asian background 1% (County Durham 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (County Durham 1%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (County Durham 1%, England 1%) · 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)
10.2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
30.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

67.77 suspensions per 100 pupils and 14 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · County Durham: 18.63 suspensions and 0.46 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
16.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

86% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 7% moved to another state school · 6% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% 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)

86.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 12.5 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 £54,020; 12.5% 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£8,112
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 62% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (6%) · supplies and services 25% (11%) · educational supplies 11% (6%) · bought-in professional services 6% (1%) · catering 5% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£2,825,000; in-year balance +£402,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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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
87%
Continuing in education
78%
Apprenticeship
7%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
61%
Apprenticeship
13%
Employment
3%
Any sustained destination
79%

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)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher16.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications22.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work17.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways26.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health40.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier59.7%62.3%
Social housing18.6%17.1%
Privately rented21.7%20.5%
Detached houses12.2%22.9%
Flats6.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms9.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van28.6%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020770 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£89,000211 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£75,000–£141,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (29)£229,000
Semi-detached (72)£118,000
Terraced (107)£80,000

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

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
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
2an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an 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