Secondary
Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy
Birtley Lane, Birtley, Chester le Street, DH3 2LP
Key facts
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 1334 of 1496 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.9
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Trust
- LORD LAWSON OF BEAMISH ACADEMY
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 80.3
- All staff (FTE)
- 111.0
- Pupils per adult
- 12.2
- Pupils
- 1,353
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected December 2025
- AchievementExpected standard
- Attendance and behaviourStrong standard
- Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
- InclusionExpected standard
- Leadership and governanceExpected standard
- Sixth formExpected standard
- Personal development and wellbeingExpected standard
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)Earlier inspections2
November 2022
Previous framework
Good
Safeguarding: met
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Quality of educationGood
- Sixth formGood
June 2019
Previous framework
Requires improvement
- Leadership and governanceRequires improvement
GCSE results
49%
46.6
3rd of 3 by our score, among the secondary schools in Chester le Street we can score - see them all. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 46.6 |
| EBacc average point score | 3.72 |
| Entered the EBacc | 8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% |
| A level average points per entry | 33.97 |
| A level students | 64 |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time4 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 58% |
| 22/23 | 49% |
| 23/24 | 51% |
| 24/25 | 49% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 36.2 |
| 22/23 | 33.6 |
| 23/24 | 33.0 |
| 24/25 | 34.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | -0.08 |
| 22/23 | -0.09 |
| 23/24 | -0.28 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 50.2 |
| 22/23 | 47.3 |
| 23/24 | 45.1 |
| 24/25 | 46.6 |
Birtley Lane, Birtley, Chester le Street, DH3 2LP
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 31 October, the year before starting.
Gateshead admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Principal
- Andrew Fowler
- Address
- Birtley Lane, Birtley, Chester le Street, DH3 2LP
- Telephone
- 01914334026