The best secondary schools in County Durham

On our composite score, St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham is the top-ranked secondary school in County Durham, with a grade B. The score is one view of a school: each profile shows the figures behind it, and the list above ranks every scored secondary school in the area.

There are 30 secondary schools in County Durham with a composite score on FindGreatSchools. Schools too new to have published results, and independent and special schools, are listed on their own pages.

By our composite score, which blends four domains (Ofsted inspection, attainment, progress and engagement) into a grade from A to F. Schools are ordered by score weighted by data completeness, so a school with thin data cannot leapfrog a well-measured one. The method and weights are published in full.

Applications for Year 7 places in County Durham starting in September 2028 close on 31 October 2027. You apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another area, and offers are made on National Offer Day, 1 March 2028 (or the next working day).

The County Durham GCSE results league table ranks every state secondary school on Attainment 8 from the latest Department for Education data, with grade 5+ and grade 7+ English and maths and earlier years for comparison.