Berwick Academy Review 2026: Upper School in Transition, with a Sixth Form Pathway

On FindMySchool’s rankings (based on official data), GCSE performance is currently below England average. Ranked 3,320th in England and 2nd in Berwick-upon-Tweed for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the academy sits within the lower-performing band nationally.

The underlying GCSE indicators reinforce that picture. Attainment 8 is 38.6, and Progress 8 is -0.85, which indicates students make substantially less progress than similar students nationally across their best eight subjects. EBacc average point score is 3.3 (England average: 4.08). These figures point to the central improvement task: raising subject-level consistency so more students secure strong passes and build the knowledge base needed for post-16 success.

The sixth form results also sit below England average at headline level. Ranked 2,008th in England and 2nd in Berwick-upon-Tweed for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the academy falls into the lower-performing band nationally on these measures. In the most recent data, 7.69% of grades were A*, 5.77% were A, and 26.92% were A* to B, compared with the England average of 47.2% at A* to B.

None of this means students cannot thrive here. It means that families should look past marketing language and focus on implementation: lesson quality, attendance, behaviour routines, and the practical support for catching up, particularly where prior attainment gaps are significant.

The academy offers a broad curriculum, with vocational options alongside academic routes. This matters in a community school context. For some students, vocational courses such as engineering, health and social care, and business administration can be a practical bridge into sustained engagement, while still keeping progression options open in sixth form.

The improvement challenge is about consistency of delivery. The school has a curriculum plan that sets out sequence and key vocabulary, and staff development is aligned to priorities such as questioning and checking understanding. The issue, as described in formal monitoring, is that classroom implementation remains variable, with some students not always being moved on quickly enough to deeper work, while others do not have misconceptions identified early enough.

For parents, the best way to interpret this is through the day-to-day: how quickly homework routines establish, whether lesson expectations are shared across subjects, and how often students can explain what they are learning and why it matters. Those are the practical markers of a school moving from plans to consistently strong practice.

The academy publishes a list of recent post-16 destinations with course and institution examples, which is helpful because it shows breadth rather than a single headline pathway. Recent examples include Medicine at Sunderland University, Zoology at Bristol University, Law and Criminology at Lancaster University, and Sports Management at Edinburgh University, alongside routes into college provision and apprenticeships.

For an overall statistical view of destinations, the most recent cohort data shows a mixed pattern. For the 2023/24 leavers (cohort size 52), 29% progressed to university, 10% to apprenticeships, 29% to employment, and 4% to further education. This profile suggests that sixth form and post-16 guidance needs to be practical, personalised, and grounded in realistic next steps, not just university applications.

A key implication for families is that outcomes appear to vary by student and by pathway. Students who know what they want to do, and who engage with the careers and personal development programme, are more likely to use the school’s opportunities well. Students who drift, or who struggle with attendance and routine, may find progression harder. That makes pastoral and attendance support central to “what happens next”, not just academic teaching.

Admissions are unusual compared with many English secondaries, because Berwick Academy has historically been a 13 to 18 high school with a transition intake at the end of Year 8. The academy’s admissions information also flags that, from September 2026, students moving into Year 7, Year 8, and Year 9 will transition to the school as it becomes a secondary school under local reorganisation.

For families applying for secondary entry for September 2026 in Northumberland, the local authority’s published timeline indicates a 31 October 2025 closing date for applications and a 2 March 2026 national offer day. In practice, this means families should prepare early in autumn of Year 6 if applying for Year 7, and similarly early in Year 8 if applying for the traditional high school transition route.

Oversubscription priorities follow the expected structure for an academy admissions authority: Education, Health and Care Plans naming the school, looked-after children, siblings, exceptional medical or social need, catchment, then distance. The academy describes distance as measured from the home front door to the front gate using the shortest walking line without entering private property.

Because distance data is not provided for this school, families should treat catchment and transport eligibility as central to decision making and confirm the latest criteria directly in the current admissions handbook. For competitive year groups, using FindMySchool’s Map Search tool can help parents compare their location and likely travel patterns against realistic options before committing to a single choice.

Sixth form entry

Sixth form entry is open to internal and external applicants, via application and interview, with offers conditional on GCSE outcomes. The published entry requirements are clear: five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and mathematics, with vocational equivalents accepted at Merit or Distinction, alongside an expectation of a positive behaviour and rewards record.

Students who do not meet the standard requirements may be considered through a Step Up programme blending Level 2 and Level 3 routes, and the sixth form outlines expectations for independent study time relative to taught hours.

Personal development is one of the academy’s clearer strengths, and it is useful that this is supported by the most recent graded inspection, which identified Personal Development as Good. For families, that often translates into meaningful careers education, structured support for choices at key points, and a school that expects students to take part in wider roles and activities rather than only focusing on exams.

Safeguarding arrangements are described as effective in the February 2024 inspection record. Beyond the compliance statement, the practical pastoral question is whether students feel listened to and whether attendance and behaviour expectations are enforced consistently enough to protect learning time, especially for those who want calm lessons and steady routines.

A further indicator is attendance. The July 2025 monitoring visit recorded that the school’s work to improve attendance had been highly effective, with persistent absence reduced and the disadvantaged attendance gap narrowed, while also recognising there is more to do. That trajectory is important for parents to test in conversation with the school, because attendance is often the single fastest lever for improving both outcomes and wellbeing.

The academy publishes its enrichment and club programme in unusual detail, including a quantified claim of 84 extracurricular or enrichment opportunities during 2023/24. The value of that number is not in the headline itself, but in what the school chooses to run. Several activities are explicitly designed to re-engage students through practical, collaborative work.

A clear example is the Greenpower Car Club. Students work on rebuilding and eventually racing an electric car, learning construction methods, control systems, and setup, with the longer-term goal of competing at UK circuits. The implication is strong for students who learn best through making and testing, because the activity rewards persistence, teamwork, and problem solving, not just exam technique.

A second strand is the structured “club” offer at lunch and after school, which includes Lego Club, Chess Club, Gym Club, Drumming Club, and scheduled support such as Homework Club and subject intervention sessions. The combination matters. A school trying to lift outcomes needs both enrichment (to build belonging and motivation) and supervised study time (to stabilise routines and reduce gaps).

Trips and events add further texture. Published examples include a France residential, geography fieldwork at Bamburgh and Alnwick, a Year 10 College Valley field trip, a careers fair, and Singfest. These are the kinds of experiences that can widen horizons for students who may not otherwise access them, provided attendance and behaviour allow students to participate consistently.

The published school day runs to a structured timetable, with gates closing at 08:45 and the day ending at 15:20, which equates to 32.5 hours in a typical week.

Extracurricular activity runs at lunch and after school on certain days, and the enrichment timetable suggests that supervised spaces for study are part of the weekly rhythm. Transport planning is particularly relevant here because catchment can include rural areas, and the academy is also preparing for wider secondary intake from 2026 as local reorganisation progresses.

• Results are currently below England average. Progress 8 at -0.85 and an Attainment 8 score of 38.6 indicate significant work remains to translate curriculum plans into consistently higher attainment across subjects. This matters most for students who need highly structured teaching to stay on track.

• Attendance and lesson consistency remain central risks. Monitoring in 2025 points to progress on attendance and improvement work, but also highlights variability in implementation. Families should ask specifically how consistency is checked across departments and what support exists for students who miss learning time.

• Admissions are changing locally for 2026 entry. The school’s move towards broader secondary intake creates opportunity, but also adds transition complexity for families. Parents should confirm the current year’s arrangements and open events directly, because published open evenings can be date-specific and may not run on a predictable pattern.

Berwick Academy is a school with clear priorities and a public improvement agenda, operating in a community context that is changing structurally from 2026. Its strongest case is for families who want a state-funded secondary with vocational breadth, a defined sixth form route, and a published enrichment offer that includes practical STEM activities like the Greenpower Car Club and structured study support.

Best suited to students who respond well to clear routines, benefit from hands-on learning alongside GCSE study, and are ready to engage consistently with attendance, homework, and enrichment. The main challenge is that academic outcomes are still catching up with the school’s ambitions, so families should judge progress through evidence of consistent teaching and stable culture rather than relying on promises alone.