Changes to Ashington Academy's catchment area amid fears some children were disadvantaged

The council has been negotiating with the academy trust following complaints from parents

Changes have been made to the catchment area of a Northumberland secondary school after parents in some villages raised concerns that their children were being disadvantaged.

Ashington Academy is run by the Northumberland Learning Trust (NELT), which also operates several feeder schools. Previously, the school had prioritised children that attended other NELT schools rather than by geography.

This had led to some pupils in villages such as Linton, Pegswood and Ellington missing out on places and having to travel further afield to towns such as Cramlington and Blyth. Following concerns raised by parents, Northumberland County Council worked alongside the academy trust to resolve the issue.

Coun Guy Renner-Thompson, cabinet member for children's services, said: "The council has listened to the views of parents and worked hard with North East Learning Trust to get the changes to the admission policy required so local people get priority to go to their local high school.

"Like many academies Ashington would prioritise children from other schools in the trust, not necessarily the closest schools to the high school. This has taken an awful lot of negotiation.

"What the academy has done is create a geographical catchment area so those children will get preference. We had been getting complaints where parents were being forced to send their children to Blyth and Cramlington."

The council conducted a parental survey in March 2024, which concluded that most parents and carers wanted their child to be considered for a place at Ashington Academy over other local schools. These views were shared with the NELT which then amended the admissions policy for the school.

Pegswood councillor David Towns added: "This is fantastic news for parents in Pegswood and beyond. I have been raising the issue with the council on behalf of parents and I'm glad there be no more uncertainty or anxiety about school places from next year."

The previous system had been putting pressure on some local primary schools, with parents unwilling to put their children in those schools for fear of missing out on a place at Ashington.

However, Northumberland sees more than 97% of children get into their first-choice school. This figure is one of the highest in the country.

Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community

Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community for all the latest news Northumberland news direct to your phone.

To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN