Kepier Review 2026: A large, structured secondary with strong routines and broad clubs

Kepier is built around clear routines, a strong emphasis on personal development, and a timetable that deliberately makes space for wider life beyond lessons. The school day includes a coaching slot, a calm lesson structure, and a dedicated 3pm to 4pm window for extracurricular activities.

The latest Ofsted inspection (March 2022) judged Kepier to be Good across all graded areas, with safeguarding confirmed as effective.

Leadership has also had a recent reset. Mr Colin Devlin took up the headship in September 2023, after being appointed to the role earlier that year.

Kepier is part of Eden Learning Trust and formally joined the trust on 01 December 2023. For parents, this matters less as branding and more as capacity, access to shared expertise, and consistency in standards across a wider group of North East schools.

Kepier’s most distinctive feature is its deliberate structure. The school talks about inspire, challenge, support as its guiding ethos, and the practical expression is visible in routines that reduce friction for students. A coaching period appears twice daily, which signals an expectation that students are guided closely, not simply left to sink or swim.

The wider tone, based on formal inspection evidence, is positive and purposeful. Relationships are described as respectful, staff are positioned as attentive to wellbeing, and students report that support is available when they need it. That combination, high expectations with visible support, often suits children who want clarity, predictable boundaries, and adults who follow through.

Eden Learning Trust’s admissions material for Kepier also makes clear that the school has a defined set of feeder primaries and a priority admissions area, which reinforces the sense that Kepier is designed as a local comprehensive serving a recognised group of communities, rather than a school drawing a highly selective intake from far afield.

Kepier’s GCSE performance sits broadly in line with the middle range of schools in England, with some indicators that will matter for different families depending on priorities.

In the FindMySchool ranking based on official data, Kepier is ranked 2,036th in England for GCSE outcomes and 2nd in the Houghton le Spring area. That placement indicates solid performance, in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Looking at the headline measures:

• The Attainment 8 score is 46.9.

• The Progress 8 score is -0.29, which suggests students make slightly less progress than pupils nationally with similar starting points.

For families, Progress 8 is often the more important indicator because it speaks to how well a school moves children on academically, not simply the raw grades achieved. A slightly negative score does not mean students do not do well, it means the average progress is a little behind the national comparison group.

EBacc is a clear development area. The average EBacc APS is 4.18, and 11.3% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in the EBacc measure. Ofsted also identified that EBacc uptake, particularly languages, was not increasing quickly enough, which aligns with the idea that the school has been strengthening the offer but has further to go in building a consistently ambitious pathway for all.

Kepier’s curriculum intent is framed around ambitious content and what it calls powerful knowledge, with retrieval principles explicitly referenced at trust level. In practice, this tends to show up as teaching that focuses on sequencing, revisiting key material, and building secure foundations before moving to more complex concepts.

Inspection evidence supports a picture of staff using assessment to identify next steps and providing planned opportunities to revisit earlier learning. This matters because it is one of the most reliable ways to support students who arrive with gaps from primary school, or who need systematic reinforcement to retain knowledge over time.

The school also leans into subject identity and practical learning where it makes sense. Technology is a good example: students use a defined set of tools and machines and are taught clear processes, with extracurricular options that extend this beyond lessons. For some children, that practical route is the difference between tolerating school and enjoying it.

Kepier is an 11 to 16 secondary, so the next step is post-16 education rather than an in-house sixth form. The school’s careers education is positioned as a core entitlement, not an add-on, with planned opportunities to meet employers and attend careers events. Named employer engagement includes Nissan, which signals that the school is trying to make local labour-market pathways tangible for students, not abstract.

For most families, the practical question is whether Kepier prepares students well for a range of post-16 routes, including A-level study at sixth forms, vocational programmes at colleges, and apprenticeships. The inspection picture is broadly reassuring on readiness for next steps, with leaders described as focused on ensuring students leave with appropriate skills and qualifications.

Because specific destination percentages are not published here, parents should treat post-16 planning as an ongoing conversation from Year 9 onwards, using options guidance, careers interviews, and open events at likely post-16 providers.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through Sunderland City Council, with Kepier’s criteria set by Eden Learning Trust as the admissions authority. The process follows a clear annual timetable for September 2026 entry:

• The preference period opens on 08 September 2025 and closes on 31 October 2025.

• National offer day is 01 March, with Sunderland issuing formal offers on 02 March 2026, and parents asked to respond by 30 March 2026.

Kepier’s published admission number for September 2026 is 230 students in Year 7. Oversubscription is handled through a ranked set of criteria. The top priorities include looked-after and previously looked-after children, then attendance at designated feeder primaries during Key Stage 2, then sibling links. The feeder list includes Bernard Gilpin, Burnside, Dubmire, East Rainton, Gillas Lane, Newbottle, and Shiney Row. The admissions text also makes explicit that living in the priority admissions area or attending a feeder primary does not guarantee a place, which is important for families who assume feeder status equals certainty.

If you are trying to judge realistic chances, two practical steps help. First, use FindMySchoolMap Search to check how your home address sits against previous allocation patterns. Second, keep a realistic set of preferences, particularly if your child would only be happy at one school.

Catchment and distance also matter. For the March 2024 allocations (for September 2024 entry), the last allocated distance shown for Kepier was 3.06 miles. Distances vary annually based on applicant distribution; proximity provides priority but does not guarantee a place.

Open events are a key part of making a decision. For the September 2026 intake, the Sunderland secondary admissions booklet lists Kepier’s open evening as Wednesday 24 September 2025. Families should expect a similar September pattern in most years, but should rely on the school and local authority for the live calendar.

Pastoral systems appear designed to spot issues early and reduce escalation. Formal inspection evidence highlights a culture where safeguarding is embedded, staff training is regular, and record-keeping and monitoring of vulnerable students is effective. Students report feeling safe and supported, which is usually the most meaningful test of whether pastoral structures work in practice.

Personal development is treated as a planned curriculum rather than an occasional assembly theme. The inspection picture is positive overall, with a structured approach for younger year groups. One area flagged for improvement was ensuring the personal development curriculum is fully embedded for older students, with specific gaps linked to disrupted learning during the pandemic period.

For parents, the takeaway is that the school understands wellbeing as both safeguarding and wider development. The question at visit stage is whether your child would feel comfortable using the support available, and whether the school’s behaviour and rewards systems align with what motivates them.

Kepier makes extracurricular participation easier by giving it a defined daily slot. That matters because after-school clubs often fail when they compete with transport and family logistics. Here, the timetable bakes it in, which is a practical signal that enrichment is expected, not optional for a small minority.

Clubs and activities also have some real specificity. Technology offers a Key Stage 3 Engineering Club running weekly, and a Key Stage 3 Cookery Club on a separate day. Those are not generic clubs, they link directly to curriculum areas and help students build competence through making and doing.

Music has a similarly concrete offer. Students can access practice rooms at social times, take instrumental or vocal lessons across a range of instruments, and participate in ensembles including Concert Band, Choir, and Rock Bands. The school also puts students through graded practical music exams, with entries paid for by the school, which can remove a cost barrier for families and widen participation.

Sport is supported by facilities that are substantial for a state secondary. The site includes a full-size 3G pitch that can divide into three smaller pitches, plus a sports hall, gymnasium, and a dance studio space suitable for performance and movement-based activities. For sporty children, that can be a major quality-of-life factor, particularly if school is where they are most confident.

The school day is clearly published. Breakfast club runs from 7.45am, doors open at 8.20am, and Period 1 starts at 8.50am. The formal extracurricular programme runs from 3pm to 4pm each day, which is helpful for working families even when it is not a full wraparound childcare model.

Transport planning matters because Kepier is a large secondary with a broad intake. Parents should check the most realistic route at the times students actually travel, and should factor in after-school clubs if their child is likely to stay until 4pm.

• Progress measure. The Progress 8 score of -0.29 suggests outcomes are a little behind the national comparison group for similar starting points. Families with highly academic children may want to understand how the school stretches top-end learners, and how it supports those who need to catch up.

• EBacc and languages. EBacc participation and languages were identified as an area to strengthen. If your child is aiming for an academically traditional route, ask how languages are promoted and how options guidance keeps doors open.

• Admission uncertainty. Feeder primary attendance and living in the priority area do not guarantee a place. The sensible approach is to look at previous allocation distance patterns and build a realistic list of preferences.

• Personal development consistency. The school has a planned approach, but older students were identified as having some gaps. Families may want to understand what has changed since 2022, particularly around teaching about diversity and protected characteristics.

Kepier offers a structured, large-school experience with clear routines, strong safeguarding culture, and a timetable that makes extracurricular participation genuinely accessible. Results are broadly typical for England, with some specific development areas around EBacc and progress that are worth exploring at visit stage.

Who it suits: families looking for a comprehensive, well-organised secondary with a strong local footprint, visible pastoral support, and practical enrichment in sport, music, and technology. For families who secure a place, the day-to-day experience is likely to feel orderly and purposeful.