Middle deemed secondary school in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside
Valley Gardens Middle School
Valley Gardens, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, NE25 9AQ
Ofsted
Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 19 November 2024.
Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 768
- Places
- 771
- How full
- Nearly full — 768 of 771 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 397 / 371
- Overall absence
- 4%
- Persistently absent
- 6%
secondary schools average 8.6%
secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 7%
- English as an additional language
- 1%
- With an EHC plan
- 2%
- On SEN support
- 11%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for North Tyneside 005A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 48%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 9%
- Households owning their home
- 94%
- Households in social housing
- 1%
- Households with no car
- 10%
- Adults economically inactive
- 37%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Foundation school
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- Ages
- Ages 9–13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- The North Tyneside Learning Trust
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: David Godfrey
- Local authority
- North Tyneside
- Ward
- Whitley Bay North
- Constituency
- Tynemouth
- URN
- 108636
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest middle deemed secondary schools
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitley Bay High SchoolFoundation school | Outstanding 2024 | 54.2 | 0.2 mi |
| Monkseaton Middle SchoolFoundation school | Good 2021 | — | 0.6 mi |
| Wellfield Middle SchoolFoundation school | Good 2024 | — | 0.9 mi |
| Marden Bridge Middle SchoolFoundation school | No grade | — | 1 mi |
| Monkseaton High SchoolFoundation school | No grade | 41 | 1.1 mi |
| Marden High SchoolFoundation school | Good 2022 | 55.1 | 1.8 mi |
| John Spence Community High SchoolAcademy converter | Requires improvement 2023 | 41 | 1.8 mi |
| St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2023 | 49.6 | 2 mi |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.