Whitworth Park Academy is a mixed secondary academy in Spennymoor, Durham County Council, teaching 996 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in October 2022. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 50.4 (England 46.1). Its 2025–2026 calendar lists 13 holidays and 1 INSET days.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Whitworth Park Academy.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
Academy First Section 5 · Inspected 5 Oct 2022 · Published 15 Nov 2022
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Whitworth Park Academy.

Whitworth Park Academy term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 24 Autumn Half Term
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 27 Inset Day
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 19 Christmas 2025
  • 19–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day
  • 26 Boxing Day
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–4 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 20 Spring Half Term
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 2 Easter 2026
  • 2–16 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday
  • 6 Easter Monday
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1 May Day 2026
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 22 Summer Half Term
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 17 Summer 2026
  • 17–31 Summer Holiday
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday
September 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Summer Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Autumn Half Term Oct 24, 2025 Holiday
  • Inset Day Nov 27, 2025 Inset Day
  • Christmas 2025 Dec 19, 2025 Holiday
  • Spring Half Term Feb 20, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter 2026 Apr 2, 2026 Holiday
  • May Day 2026 May 1, 2026 Event
  • Summer Half Term May 22, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer 2026 Jul 17, 2026 Event
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 19, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Holiday Apr 2, 2026 - Apr 16, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Holiday Jul 17, 2026 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day Jan 1, 2026 Event
  • Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
  • Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day Dec 26, 2025 Event

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
50.4 Attainment 8 England 46.1 Top 23%
55.4% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4% Top 21%
27.2% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Whitworth Park Academy with Durham County Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 50.4 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Durham County Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 50.4
Durham County Council 44.1 England 46.1 +4.3 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 55.4%
Durham County Council 41.6% England 45.4% +10 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 43.3
Durham County Council 35.6 England 34.9 +8.4 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 10.5
Durham County Council 12.5 England 15.5 -5 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 32.4%
Durham County Council 31.9% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 148
Attendance 27.2% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Durham County Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 27.2%
Durham County Council 18.8% England 17.8% +9.5 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 8.9%
Durham County Council 6.9% England 6.8% +2.1 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 88% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Durham County Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 88%
Durham County Council 89% England 92% -4 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 81%
Durham County Council 80% England 83% -2 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Whitworth Park Academy. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Whitworth Park Academy than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.