Prudhoe Community High School Review 2026: A Year 9 to Year 13 pathway with strong pastoral systems and clear next steps

A secondary school that begins at Year 9 is a distinctive model, and it shapes everything from curriculum planning to transition support. Prudhoe Community High School takes students from age 13 through to 19, with a sixth form that keeps progression routes open across A-level and vocational options.

The school’s recent story also includes a significant period of disruption. Following the closure of the Prudhoe building in February 2025, students moved into a Washington Campus site from 31 March 2025, with the move coordinated alongside the Trust and partners. That experience, and how calmly a school manages it, tends to reveal a lot about organisation, communication, and community confidence.

This is a school that positions itself as inclusive and community-focused, and that aligns with the published picture of daily culture. Expectations are clear, behaviour is calm, and routines appear well established, including the way older students model the tone for younger year groups.

Leadership is also clearly signposted. The headteacher is Annmarie Moore, and the school sits within Cheviot Learning Trust, with Trust governance and executive leadership structure set out publicly.

A final point that matters for fit is the entry age. Joining at Year 9 means most students arrive after middle school, so the school has to be good at creating belonging quickly. Evidence suggests that transition is planned, including an approach that links Year 9 curriculum planning with local middle schools so that students build on prior learning rather than repeating content.

Performance sits in a broadly middle-performing position in England on GCSE measures, with a more challenging picture at A-level when set against England-wide distribution of grades.

GCSE outcomes (headline indicators)

The school’s Attainment 8 score is 47.9, and Progress 8 is 0.08, which indicates students make slightly above-average progress from their starting points. EBacc average point score is 4.1, broadly in line with the England figure used (4.08).

Rankings are best read as context rather than a verdict. Ranked 1,977th in England and 1st in Prudhoe for GCSE outcomes, this reflects solid performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile). These are proprietary FindMySchool rankings based on official data.

A-level outcomes (headline indicators)

At A-level, 4.02% of grades are A*, 13.79% are A, and 39.08% are A* to B. Against the England benchmark A* to B is lower (England average 47.2%).

Ranked 1,680th in England and 1st in Prudhoe for A-level outcomes, this places A-level performance below England average overall. These are proprietary FindMySchool rankings based on official data.

The most helpful implication for families is that Prudhoe looks strongest when viewed as a complete 13 to 19 pathway, with good progress measures at GCSE and a sixth form that offers multiple routes, including vocational subjects, rather than a narrow A-level-only model.

Curriculum structure is a clear strength in the published evidence. The programme is described as broad and ordered, with sequencing that helps students build knowledge logically over time, and specific attention given to Year 9 alignment with feeder middle schools.

Reading is treated as a whole-school priority rather than an add-on intervention. Students who need additional support with fluency and comprehension are placed on targeted programmes, and the sixth form also supports reading through paired activity with younger students. The implication is practical, pupils who read confidently access the full curriculum more easily, particularly in subjects where extended writing and technical vocabulary matter.

Teaching quality is described as secure and clear, with one important nuance for parents who want detail. At times in key stages 3 and 4, checking understanding is not consistently rigorous enough, and some students do not always get sufficient structured opportunity to deepen learning. That does not mean lessons are weak, it means the school’s improvement focus is likely to be about consistency of classroom practice and challenge, rather than a wholesale curriculum rewrite.

Where Students Go Next

Because the school includes sixth form, destinations matter. The evidence base here needs careful handling. The school publishes its own destinations information, but the review uses the dataset’s leavers destinations block for the core statistics, as required.

For the 2023 to 2024 leavers cohort (cohort size 108), 54% progressed to university, 17% to apprenticeships, 2% to further education, and 20% to employment. This blend suggests that the sixth form supports a genuinely mixed set of next steps rather than a single dominant route.

Oxbridge activity exists, even if it is small in absolute terms. In the measurement period provided, there were 2 applications, 1 offer, and 1 acceptance (all recorded under Cambridge). The implication is not that Oxbridge is a defining feature, but that high-attainment pathways are present and supported when the right individual student fit and aspiration align.

For many families, the more practical question is whether careers guidance is strong enough to support university, apprenticeships, and employment with equal credibility. Careers provision is described as a strength within the evidence, and this tends to matter most in a sixth form where outcomes are diverse.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Entry is coordinated through Northumberland’s local authority admissions process for the normal round.

For September 2026 entry (the specified year in the coordinated admissions scheme), the application process opens on 12 September 2025, with a deadline of midnight on 31 October 2025 for middle, secondary, and high school places. National Offer Day is set as 16 April 2026 in the scheme timetable.

Open events and transition touchpoints appear to follow a predictable annual rhythm for Year 8 into Year 9 transfer, including an open evening in the autumn term, a parent information evening in the summer term, and a transfer day traditionally in July. Families should check the school’s current calendar for the exact dates in a given year, particularly because local circumstances can affect timing.

For sixth form entry (Year 12), the school promotes a specific open evening date for the 2026 intake: Thursday 5 February 2026, with a published time window of 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

As a planning tool, families often find it useful to use the FindMySchool Map Search when weighing commute practicality across multiple options, and the Local Hub comparison view when shortlisting schools for GCSE and sixth form performance side-by-side.

The school’s pastoral picture is grounded in clear routines and consistent expectations. Behaviour is described as calm and orderly, with low-level disruption not accepted as normal, which is usually one of the best indicators for whether learning time is protected. Sixth form students are expected to act as role models, which can strengthen culture when it is supported by staff consistency.

Personal development is structured across Year 9 to Year 13, covering relationships, equality and diversity, physical and mental health, and safety online and in the local community. The practical implication is that students receive repeated, age-appropriate coverage of issues that tend to surface throughout adolescence, rather than a one-off programme.

Ofsted also confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Extracurricular strength is clearest where activities have names, schedules, and staff ownership. The published enrichment and support timetables provide that level of clarity, including ongoing clubs alongside subject support.

Examples include Manga Club, Reading Club, Book Group, Media Club, and a 3D Printing Club. Practical STEM enrichment also shows up through scheduled Engineering sessions, which is a useful signal for students who prefer applied learning or are considering technical routes alongside academic study.

Performing arts and music sit alongside sport rather than competing with it. The timetables reference Band, Choir, and School Show activity, suggesting the school sustains a participatory arts offer rather than relying solely on curriculum lessons.

Sport provision appears broad and regular, with opportunities spanning team sports and individual activities, and the enrichment schedules show consistent after-school slots. Where this matters most is for students who benefit from structure at the end of the day, an organised programme can support attendance, friendship groups, and a sense of belonging.

Trips and visits also contribute to the wider offer, including subject-linked travel such as an Iceland geography trip and an Italy music and choir trip referenced in published material, plus theatre visits and competitions.

The normal school day starts with registration at 08:25 for Year 9 to Year 11, with teaching periods running through to a 15:00 finish. A shortened day operates on Wednesdays (Week 1 and 2) with a 14:35 finish time shown in the published timings.

For transport, Prudhoe station provides rail access on the Newcastle to Carlisle line. For bus travel, local services such as Go North East’s 686 operate through Prudhoe and Moor Road timings are published by the operator. Families should match timetables to the school day, especially where after-school enrichment is part of the plan.

• Year 9 entry is not for everyone. Students join at 13, often from different middle schools, and the social reset can suit many but may feel unsettled for those who prefer continuity from Year 7. Transition events help, but families should think about how their child copes with change.

• A-level outcomes are a weaker area relative to England. The A* to B proportion (39.08%) sits below the England benchmark. Students targeting highly selective universities may want to ask how subject-level performance and support varies across the sixth form offer.

• External circumstances have mattered recently. The 2025 move to a Washington Campus site required rapid operational change. Families considering entry should ask what the current site arrangement is, what has stabilised, and what is planned next.

• Challenge and depth in key stages 3 and 4 is an improvement focus. The issue is not curriculum ambition but the consistency of checking understanding and extending learning. It is worth asking how this looks in classrooms now and what staff development has focused on since the last inspection.

Prudhoe Community High School offers a distinctive 13 to 19 pathway, with a clear community ethos, orderly routines, and a curriculum designed to connect Year 9 learning with feeder middle schools. GCSE progress measures suggest students make slightly above-average progress, while sixth form outcomes are more mixed and best suited to students who value having both A-level and vocational routes available.

Who it suits most is a student who will benefit from structured expectations, a broad personal development programme, and a sixth form where university, apprenticeships, and employment are all credible next steps, rather than a single-track academic conveyor belt.