NCEA Duke's Secondary School
One in four sixth-formers go on to university — below the England rate.
of sixth-form leavers started university · Northumberland 48% · England 37% · DfE destination measures, students who left in 2023
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement
- Places
- —
- Pupils
- 980
- Free school meals
- 50.2%
Ofsted: Full inspection, 6 June 2023 · report. Places: the last distance at which places were offered is not on file (it comes from Northumberland’s allocation statistics). Pupils: of 1,150 places, including the sixth form. Free school meals: pupils eligible, a measure of family income.
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registrations: Ashington Alexandra First School (URN 122175, until 1 September 2009); Lynemouth First School (URN 122200, until 1 September 2009); Windsor First School (URN 122208, until 1 September 2009); Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Moorside First School (URN 122212, until 1 September 2009); Coulson Park First School (URN 122241, until 1 September 2009); Welbeck Community First School (URN 122253, until 1 September 2009); Newbiggin Middle School (URN 122342, until 1 September 2009); Hirst High School (URN 122359, until 1 September 2009); Seaton Hirst Church of England Middle School (URN 134474, until 1 September 2009); Hawthorn Church of England Controlled First School (URN 134729, until 1 September 2009).
Where do pupils go at 16?
DfE Key Stage 4 destination measures · 167 pupils who left Year 11 in 2023
Of the 167 pupils who finished Year 11 at NCEA Duke's Secondary School in 2023, 27% stayed on in NCEA Duke's Secondary School’s own sixth form (Northumberland average 43%), 45% went to a further education college and 11% started an apprenticeship.
Stayed in education — counted only if the pupil was still there for two terms of the next year; apprenticeships and jobs are counted the same way.
Full breakdown11
| Measure | NCEA Duke's Secondary School | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 167 | 3,151 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 89% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 72% | 81% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 27% | 43% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 0% | 13% |
| — further education college | 45% | 36% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 11% | 6% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 9% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 2% | 3% | 3% |
Where do sixth-formers go at 18?
DfE 16–18 destination measures · 49 students who left in 2023
27% went to university (England 37%). 16% started an apprenticeship (England 7%). 27% went into work and 16% had no steady place a year on (England 28% and 16%).
Most selective universities — the third of UK universities whose entrants hold the highest grades; the share is of students who completed level 3 qualifications.
Full breakdown7
| Measure | NCEA Duke's Secondary School | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 49 | 1,385 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 80% | 87% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 27% | 48% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 3% | 28% | 19% |
| Further education | 10% | 3% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 16% | 11% | 7% |
| Employment | 27% | 25% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 16% | 10% | 16% |
How do GCSE results compare?
Attainment 8 — average GCSE points across eight subjects, English and maths counted twice; grade 5 in everything scores 50.
DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · 188 pupils in Year 11
21% got grade 5 or above in both English and maths (Northumberland 42%, England 45%).
Grade 5 — a “strong pass”; grade 4 is a “standard pass”. Progress 8 is not published for 2025: this cohort had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020–21, so there is no baseline.
All GCSE measures10
| Measure | NCEA Duke's Secondary School | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 32.0 | 44.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 21% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 42% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 11% | 32% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.54 | 3.82 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 48% | 27% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 26.1 | 30.9 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 37.6 | 48.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 5% | 3% | 19% |
What do pupils study?
Mapped — the share of the 3,288 learning outcomes the Department for Education sets for these stages that the subjects taken here cover, weighted by how many pupils take each.
DfE subject entries 2025 · curriculum catalogue by sch.today
Art and Design stands out at GCSE — 38% of the year group took it, against 7% across England. At A level it is Geography: 37% of students (England 10%).
Fields of knowledge — twelve fields the curriculum catalogue sorts every learning outcome into; the bars show the GCSE and A level ring.
GCSE subjects20
Entries as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 186 | 99% | 88% | 6% | 22% | 55% |
| English Language | 186 | 99% | 89% | 5% | 20% | 42% |
| English Literature | 178 | 95% | 86% | 4% | 21% | 38% |
| Chemistry | 170 | 90% | 23% | 3% | 47% | 32% |
| Biology | 170 | 90% | 23% | 1% | 45% | 40% |
| Physics | 167 | 89% | 23% | 2% | 46% | 45% |
| Art and Design | 72 | 38% | 7% | 3% | 24% | 58% |
| Geography | 53 | 28% | 41% | 11% | 25% | 36% |
| History | 52 | 28% | 41% | 13% | 26% | 44% |
| Religious Studies | 43 | 23% | 31% | 12% | 32% | 74% |
| French | 38 | 20% | 18% | 5% | 29% | 34% |
| Design and Technology | 18 | 10% | 11% | 0% | 23% | 17% |
| Physical Education | 17 | 9% | 11% | 0% | 24% | 59% |
| Applied Engineering | 16 | 9% | 0% | 0% | 18% | 31% |
| Music | 9 | 5% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 44% |
| Photography | 3 | 2% | 6% | — | 19% | — |
| Combined Science | 2 | 1% | 65% | — | 9% | — |
| Statistics | 1 | 1% | 5% | — | 20% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Persian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications9
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 42 | 100% | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 34 | 100% | — |
| Health Studies | 31 | 100% | — |
| Small Business Management | 21 | 100% | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 20 | 100% | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 15 | 79% | — |
| Multimedia | 14 | 74% | — |
| Tourism | 12 | 63% | — |
| Speech and Drama | 9 | 47% | — |
A level subjects4
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 12 | 63% | 23% |
| Sociology | 9 | 47% | 13% |
| Geography | 7 | 37% | 10% |
| Art and Design | — | — | 1% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses23
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Studies | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | 10 | 53% | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma at Level 3 | 9 | 47% | — |
| Sports Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma at Level 3 | 6 | 32% | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | OCR Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Multimedia | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Tourism | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | — | — | — |
| Fine Art | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Sociology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Fine Art | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Sociology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Applied Sciences | OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Health Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Applied Sciences | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Sports Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | OCR Cambridge Technical Foundation Diploma at Level 3 | — | — | — |
A level results8
| Measure | NCEA Duke's Secondary School | Northumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 84 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 19 | 1,089 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | C- | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 26.32 | 34.22 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | C+ | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 0% | 17% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
Fields of knowledge, all stages12
Ideas pupils meet most, weighted by the share of the cohort taking the subjects that teach them:
Coverage counts a subject’s outcomes in proportion to the share of the cohort entered for it; Combined Science counts as two thirds of the three separate sciences. Levels follow ISCED 2011 as UNESCO maps it for the UK: Key Stage 3 is ISCED 2; GCSE and A level are both ISCED 3. Methodology: about the data.
Which jobs use what’s taught here?
A match of what’s taught, not of entry requirements: the standards whose knowledge and skills share the most ideas with the GCSEs and A levels taken here, weighted by how many pupils take each subject.
Level 3 / Level 6 — England’s qualification levels: 3 is A level standard, 4–5 are higher apprenticeships, 6 is a bachelor’s degree.
Skills England apprenticeship standards (Open Government Licence v3.0) · ESCO occupations, © European Union, matched by sch.today · how the match works
More apprenticeships9
How do you get a place?
The last distance at which NCEA Duke's Secondary School offered Year 7 places is not yet on file; it comes from Northumberland’s allocation statistics.
- 31 OctApply to Northumberland in Year 6 for a Year 7 place
- 1 MarNational Offer Day
- Dec–FebYear 11: apply directly to the sixth form; most close applications in these months
Compare with nearby schools
More Northumberland schools3
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.