Belmont Community School
Community school · 887 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.4
Academy converter
Dene Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 638of 818 places
- Free school meals
- 62.5%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 96
- Ofsted
- Good, 22 November 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Dene Community School (URN 114313, until 1 June 2019).
What the data says
Dene Academy has no sixth form. Of the 124 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 72% to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.
Photography is unusually popular at GCSE: 51% of the year group took it, against 6% of pupils across England.
11% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 41.4 against 46.1 across England and 44.1 in County Durham, with 33% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in County Durham and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Dene Academy | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 124 | 5,399 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 85% | 89% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 78% | 81% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 5% | 30% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 4% | 13% |
| — further education college | 72% | 46% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 11% | 8% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Dene Academy | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 41.4 | 44.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 61% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 28% | 33% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.40 | 3.75 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 57% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 36.8 | 35.6 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 47.4 | 48.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 4% | 4% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 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 | 96 | 100% | 88% | 9% | 22% | 57% |
| English Language | 96 | 100% | 89% | 8% | 20% | 51% |
| English Literature | 96 | 100% | 86% | 6% | 21% | 63% |
| Combined Science | 76 | 79% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 29% |
| Geography | 63 | 66% | 41% | 10% | 25% | 27% |
| Photography | 49 | 51% | 6% | 27% | 19% | 90% |
| Fine Art | 39 | 41% | 9% | 15% | 28% | 82% |
| History | 30 | 31% | 41% | 20% | 26% | 50% |
| French | 27 | 28% | 18% | 30% | 29% | 74% |
| Statistics | 19 | 20% | 5% | 26% | 20% | 95% |
| Physics | 19 | 20% | 23% | 11% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 19 | 20% | 23% | 26% | 47% | 100% |
| Biology | 19 | 20% | 23% | 16% | 45% | 95% |
| Computer Science | 1 | 1% | 13% | — | 30% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 37 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 36 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 29 | — | — |
| Sports Coaching | 23 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 21 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in County Durham
Bishop Barrington Academy
Academy converter · 599 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.4
Consett Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,493 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.2
Durham Academy
Academy converter · 405 pupils
67% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.4
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
Community school · sixth form · 1,667 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 55.2
Easington Academy
Academy converter · 769 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.8
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.