List of middle schools in England


Middle schools in England are defined in English and Welsh law as being schools in which the age range of pupils taught includes pupils who are aged below 10 years and six months, as well as those who are aged over 12.
The number of middle schools, including combined schools for children aged between 5 and 12, reached a peak of over 1400 by 1983.
In 2019 there were 107 middle schools remaining in England, operating in just 14 local authority areas.

History

Middle schools were permitted by the Education Act of 1964, which made additional arrangements to allow for schools which crossed the traditional primary-secondary threshold at age 11. Notably, these changes did not define a new type of school, but rather permitted a variation on existing schemes, while providing for regulations which allowed the Secretary of State to determine whether such schools should be treated as primary or secondary.
This had not been provided for in the Education Act of 1944.
The move, pushed forward by Alec Clegg, then Chief Education Officer of the West Riding of Yorkshire County Council, was initially part of a process to introduce comprehensive schools in secondary education. Clegg proposed a model of middle schools for students aged 9 to 13, crossing the traditional divide at age 11 as early as 1960, with the scheme fully implemented in September 1969. Earlier moves by the local authority in Leicestershire had seen the introduction of two-tier secondary schools for students aged 11 to 14, and 14 to 18 as early as the late 1950s.
The 1964 Act was followed in July 1965 by Circular 10/65 from the then Labour government requesting that local education authorities put forward plans to introduce comprehensive schools in their areas. However, the circular offered only limited support for a change to a three-tier model of middle schools, as the minister had already requested a review of the age of transfer to secondary schools as part of the Plowden enquiry into Children and their primary schools. The Plowden report published in 1967 encouraged the development of middle schools for students aged 8 to 12, developing from existing junior schools.
The law required that all schools were classified as either primary or secondary depending on the age range of students. By 1970, over 100 middle deemed secondary schools were in operation with around 30 deemed primary schools. The number of middle schools, including combined schools for children aged between 5 and 12, rose continuously over the next decade, reaching a peak of over 1400 such schools by 1983, with the primary model rapidly overtaking the secondary following the publication of the Plowden report. However, from that time onwards, the number of middle schools fell each year.
The introduction of the National Curriculum with set Key Stages aligned with the old primary/secondary model further affected the numbers of schools, with a quarter of middle schools closing in the five years after its introduction. Issues of falling rolls, and queries raised about the academic progress of students in three-tier systems led to further closures.

Statistics

In 2019 there were 107 middle schools remaining in England, operating in 14 local authority areas, ranging from the 117-pupil Glendale Middle School in Northumberland, to the 1000-pupil Biggleswade Academy in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.
In the table below, the URN refers to the unique reference number for each school, linking to its page on the Ofsted website. Also from the table below, it can be seen that middle deemed primary schools have now been almost completely abolished across England.

Middle schools

Bedford Borough

Schools in the unitary authority, operated by Bedfordshire County Council until April 2009. Following consultation in the summer of 2009 the authority intended to re-introduce two-tier provision from 2013, closing all middle schools by 2015. However, on 7 July 2010, it was announced that the change from 3-tier to 2-tier "would be scrapped"; the reason given being cuts in government funding to schools made by the Coalition Government. One Middle School closed in 2011 and two more closed in 2014.
In July 2015, the borough council announced its intention to support schools in the introduction of a borough-wide move to two-tier provision. As a result, all but one middle school reorganised as primary or secondary by 2019.
NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Marston Vale Middle SchoolStewartby9–13Secondary464

Central Bedfordshire

Schools in the unitary authority, operated by Bedfordshire County Council until April 2009. Some locality groups, such as schools in Dunstable, have undergone local re-organisations to remove middle schools. The local authority supports the principle of moving to primary and secondary provision.
NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Alameda Middle SchoolAmpthill9–13Secondary715
Arnold AcademyBarton-le-Clay9–13Secondary658
Biggleswade AcademyBiggleswade2–13Primary1174
Brooklands Middle SchoolLeighton Buzzard9–13Secondary518
Edward Peake Middle SchoolBiggleswade9–13Secondary519
Etonbury AcademyArlesey9–16Secondary1071
Fulbrook Middle SchoolWoburn Sands9–13Secondary425
Gilbert Inglefield AcademyLeighton Buzzard9–13Secondary424
Henlow Church of England AcademyHenlow9–13Secondary630
Holywell CE Middle SchoolCranfield9–13Secondary658
Leighton Middle SchoolLeighton Buzzard9–13Secondary556
Linslade SchoolLinslade9–13Secondary633
Parkfields Middle SchoolToddington9–13Secondary457
Pix Brook AcademyArlesey9–16Secondary120
Potton Middle SchoolPotton9–13Secondary249
Priory AcademyDunstable9–16Secondary699
Robert Bloomfield AcademyShefford9–13Secondary946
Woodland Middle School AcademyFlitwick9–13Secondary621

Dorset

Hertfordshire

Kirklees

NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Kirkburton Middle SchoolKirkburton10–13Secondary509
Scissett Middle SchoolScissett10–13Secondary599

Newcastle upon Tyne

A new school is proposed to open at Great Park, Gosforth in 2020, which will be a middle school with age range 9-16.
NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Gosforth Central Middle SchoolGosforth9–13Secondary514
Gosforth East Middle SchoolGosforth9–13Secondary512
Gosforth Junior High AcademyGosforth9–13Secondary700

North Tyneside

NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Marden Bridge Middle SchoolWhitley Bay9–13Secondary549
Monkseaton Middle SchoolMonkseaton9–13Secondary294
Valley Gardens Middle SchoolMonkseaton9–13Secondary762
Wellfield Middle SchoolSouth Wellfield9–13Secondary323

Northumberland

Northumberland County Council began a process of closing middle schools across the authority in 2006. This was discontinued as a universal policy following funding difficulties but middle schools have continued to close, merge into all through academies or change to primaries with 25 Northumberland middle schools having ceased to be middle schools since 2006 and a further two set to follow in 2019 and 2020.
NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Bellingham Middle SchoolBellingham9–13Secondary95
Berwick Middle SchoolBerwick-upon-Tweed9–13Secondary306
Chantry Middle SchoolMorpeth9–13Secondary546
Corbridge Middle SchoolCorbridge9–13Secondary349
Dr Thomlinson CE Middle SchoolRothbury9–13Secondary225
Glendale Middle SchoolWooler9–13Secondary115
Hexham Middle SchoolHexham9–13Secondary455
Highfield Middle SchoolPrudhoe9–13Secondary419
James Calvert Spence CollegeAmble9–18Secondary734
Meadowdale AcademyBedlington4–13Secondary371
Newminster Middle SchoolMorpeth9–13Secondary526
Ovingham Middle SchoolOvingham9–13Secondary349
St Joseph's RC Middle SchoolHexham9–13Secondary336
Seaton Sluice Middle SchoolSeaton Sluice9–13Secondary326
Tweedmouth Middle SchoolBerwick-upon-Tweed9–13Secondary304
Whytrig Middle SchoolSeaton Delaval9–13Secondary231

Poole

Poole Borough Council closed all of its middle-deemed-primary schools in August 2013.
NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Broadstone Middle SchoolBroadstone9–13Secondary479

Somerset

NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Danesfield CofE Middle SchoolWilliton9–13Secondary318
Fairlands Middle SchoolCheddar9–13Secondary483
Hugh Sexey Church of England Middle SchoolBlackford9–13Secondary585
Maiden Beech AcademyCrewkerne9–13Secondary392
Minehead Middle SchoolMinehead9–13Secondary566
Oakfield AcademyFrome9–13Secondary644
Selwood AcademyFrome9–13Secondary631
Swanmead Community SchoolIlminster9–13Secondary270

Staffordshire

NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Bilbrook CofE Middle SchoolCodsall9–13Secondary99
Brewood Middle CE AcademyBrewood9–13Secondary420
Christ Church AcademyStone9–13Secondary580
Churnet View Middle SchoolLeek9–13Secondary437
Codsall Middle SchoolCodsall9–13Secondary546
James Bateman Middle SchoolBiddulph9–13Secondary385
Oldfields Hall Middle SchoolUttoxeter9–13Secondary506
Penkridge Middle SchoolPenkridge9–13Secondary454
Perton Middle SchoolPerton9–13Secondary373
Ryecroft CE Middle SchoolRocester9–13Secondary201
St Edwards CofE Junior High SchoolLeek9–13Secondary724
Walton Priory Middle SchoolStone9–13Secondary461
Windsor Park CE Middle SchoolUttoxeter9–13Secondary325
Woodhouse AcademyBiddulph9–13Secondary452

Suffolk

Suffolk County Council planned to close all middle schools in its authority by 2013, later delayed to 2016. The two remaining schools became part of an all-through academy trust, thereby removing themselves from the local authority-led process to close three-tier schools.
NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Horringer Court SchoolBury St Edmunds9–13Secondary355
Westley SchoolBury St Edmunds9–13Secondary488

Windsor and Maidenhead

NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Dedworth Middle SchoolWindsor9–13Secondary505
St Edwards Royal Free Ecumenical Middle SchoolWindsor9–13Secondary480
St Peter's Middle School, Old WindsorOld Windsor9–13Secondary220
Trevelyan Middle SchoolWindsor9–13Secondary577

Worcestershire

NameLocationAge
Range		Deemed
status		Number
on Roll		URNWebsite
Abbey Park MiddlePershore9–12Primary204
Alvechurch Church of England Middle SchoolAlvechurch9–13Secondary431
Aston Fields Middle SchoolBromsgrove9–13Secondary585
Birchensale Middle SchoolRedditch9–13Secondary553
Blackminster MiddleSouth Littleton10–13Secondary164
Bredon Hill AcademyAshton under Hill10–13Secondary486
Catshill Middle SchoolCatshill9–13Secondary307
Church Hill MiddleRedditch9–13Secondary312
Ipsley CE RSA AcademyWinyates9–13Secondary608
Parkside MiddleBromsgrove9–13Secondary558
Ridgeway AcademyAstwood Bank9–16Secondary408
St Barnabas CE First & MiddleDrakes Broughton4–12Primary293
St Bede's Catholic MiddleRedditch9–13Secondary644
St Egwin's MiddleEvesham10–13Secondary433
St John's CE MiddleBromsgrove9–13Secondary640
St Nicholas' CE MiddlePinvin9–12Primary299
The De Montfort SchoolEvesham10–18Secondary893
Walkwood CE MiddleRedditch9–13Secondary677
Westacre MiddleDroitwich Spa9–12Primary409
Witton MiddleDroitwich Spa9–12Primary422
Woodfield AcademyRedditch9–13Secondary516

Authorities where middle schools have been discontinued

Many authorities in regions of England previously had middle schools, with either local areas or whole counties since reverting to the more traditional two-tier model. These are listed briefly by region.

East of England

closed its last middle schools - which were deemed primary - in 2008.
Suffolk began the process of closing its middle schools in 2006, having reduced its numbers from a high of 40 schools.
The only middle school in Cambridgeshire closed in 2018.

East Midlands

closed its middle schools in and around Northampton in 2002, with its final two middle schools closing in 2015.
Leicestershire had a number of middle schools which covered the 10-14 age range, alongside others which were for Key Stage 3 students. The last of the middle schools closed in 2017.
Nottinghamshire formerly had a three tier system around Newark-on-Trent and in Mansfield, with the latter closing in 2001.

London

The London Borough of Harrow closed its middle deemed primary schools in 2011.
The London Borough of Merton had about 14 middle schools for the 9-13 age range, which were converted to deemed-primary schools in the 1990s. These schools reverted to primary use by 2002.

North East England

The three authorities with existing middle schools all closed several middle schools since 1999. A number of towns such as Hexham and Berwick-upon-Tweed still have middle schools.

North West England

South East England

's last middle schools closed in the 1990s.
Hampshire inherited middle schools from Southampton City authority which had gone wholly three-tier in 1970. The schools reverted to the traditional model in the 1990s.
Isle of Wight middle schools closed in 2011.
Kent's last three middle schools closed in 2009. The Hoo Peninsula middle schools were reorganised in 1994.
Milton Keynes' system of middle schools was converted to primary schools in 2008.
Oxfordshire closed its last middle-deemed-primary schools in Oxford in 2003.
West Sussex closed middle schools in Crawley in 2004, Adur in 2007, Midhurst & Petworth in 2009 and Worthing in 2015. Its last middle school closed in 2017.

South West England

closed its only middle schools, in Exeter, in 2005.
Dorset has closed a number of middle schools, including four which closed in 2013, as well as fourteen middle-deemed-primary schools which closed in the borough of Poole.
Wiltshire closed its last middle schools in 2005.

West Midlands

, Staffordshire - includes the towns of Aldridge and Brownhills as well as the villages of Pelsall and Streetly. Adopted 9–13 middle schools in 1972 and retained this system until 1986, when the traditional age ranges were re-established. The authority had been merged into Walsall in 1974.
Bewdley and Kidderminster, Worcestershire - adopted 9–13 middle schools in 1972, and the whole area retained this system after 1974 when the two boroughs merged to form Wyre Forest district council. The system was maintained until 2007, when the traditional age ranges were re-established throughout the area.
Dudley, West Midlands - incorporating towns of Dudley, Sedgley, Coseley and Brierley Hill. Adopted 8–12 middle schools in 1972 and retained this system until 1990, when the traditional age ranges were re-established. This coincided with a major reorganisation in the borough which saw sixth form facilities largely concentrated in further education colleges rather than secondary schools, as well as several secondary schools being closed or merged.
Halesowen, West Midlands - adopted 9–13 middle schools in 1972 and retained this system after 1974 when the town was absorbed into the borough of Dudley along with Stourbridge. Was one of the first local authorities to abolish middle schools when in 1982 the traditional age ranges were re-established. This reorganisation also saw the town's three secondary schools serving the 13-18 age range become 11-16 schools, with sixth form facilities concentrated at the expanded college in the town, while the town gained a fourth secondary school with the conversion of a former middle school into an 11-16 school.
Sutton Coldfield adopted 5-8 first schools and 8–12 middle schools in 1972 and did so for 20 years before reverting to 5-7 infant and 7-11 junior schools in 1992.
Northern Warwickshire.

Yorkshire and the Humber

closed its middle schools between 1998 and 2002, having been the home of the first purpose-built middle school in the country.
Kirklees local authority closed three middle schools in 2012.
North Yorkshire's two middle schools closed in 2012. Leeds and Wakefield previously operated on the three-tier system before reverting during the 1990s.