The school was founded in 1936 as the St Leonard's Catholic Central School in the former Springwell Hall, a coalmine owner's house acquired in 1935 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.[2]
During the era of the tripartite system, the school became a secondary modern and turned comprehensive in 1970 when the system was abolished by the LEA. The sixth form was opened that same year.
In November 2024 BAM signed a £71million pound contract with the Department for Education for a new school build for St Leonard's that will open in Easter 2026.[3] The 110,000 sq ft three-storey school will include sports, assembly and dining halls and a wide range of departments, including specialist teaching spaces for art, technology and music at ground floor level. The existing Springwell Hall will be reconfigured, refurbished and utilised as part of the redeveloped campus. The existing Sixth Form building will also be retained.
Ofsted judgements
The school had been judged Good by Ofsted in 2019.[4] In 2022 it was inspected again and judged to Require Improvement.[5] The school was judged Outstanding in all 5 areas of the Ofsted Framework in 2024.[6]
The Prime Minister's Global Fellowship
The school has a record of students attaining places on the Prime Minister's Global Fellowship programme. The school achieved its first student in the inaugural year of the programme, 2008, and in 2009 had 3 successful applicants.[7]
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