Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy
Academy converter secondary school in Chester le Street (Gateshead).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy is a larger-than-average mixed secondary school in the town of Birtley. The school role is usually around 1450 students, including around 200 in the sixth form. The school occupies a large site, elevated above the east side of the town. Birtley is situated in the borough of Gateshead, and is between Gateshead and Chester-le-Street.
Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy is a stand-alone academy, with no affiliation to other schools or academy trusts. Secondary schools in Gateshead work closely together, with one another, with their cluster of primary schools and with the local authority. The school was founded in 1970 as an amalgamation of three previous secondary schools.
The present school building was opened in September 2007, built as part of the government's Private Finance Initiative. The building was constructed by Sir Robert McAlpine and is very well maintained. It provides good-sized classrooms and excellent facilities for learning.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
1 activityiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Growth Mindset
Awards
2 awardsiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Anti-Bullying CharterRecognised award
- Duke of EdinburghPersonal development
Key facts
- URN
- 137942
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Local authority
- Gateshead
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2012
Governing body (17 current, 2 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.15 governors are linked to a profile (all confirmed).
Governors marked “Confirmed same person” have exactly the same forename and surname as the only officer of that name at the school’s own academy trust company on the Companies House register, so we treat them as the same person. The governance record itself comes from DfE.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Guy Jonathan Currey Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Miss Claire Gibson Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Miss Laura Jobling Confirmed same person | MemberTrust members | Appointed by academy members | since 2025 |
| Mr David Neil Priestley Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by GB/board | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr Christopher Peter Smith Confirmed same person | MemberTrust members | Appointed by academy members | since 2025 |
| Mr Timothy John Kemp Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Gemma Susan Lawson Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr Christopher Peter Smith Confirmed same person | Chair of TrusteesTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Mr Daniel Dales Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Elected by parents | since 2025 · until 2029 |
| Ms Louise Alexandra Doran Confirmed same person | Chief Financial OfficerTrust officer | since 2024 | |
| Mrs Alison Logan Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mrs Jane Halpin Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr Andrew Fowler Confirmed same person | Accounting OfficerTrust officer | since 2019 | |
| Mr Andrew Thomas Fowler Confirmed same person | TrusteeTrust board | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2019 |
| Mrs June Kelly | MemberTrust members | Appointed by academy members | since 2019 |
| Mr A Leaf | MemberTrust members | Appointed by academy members | since 2018 |
| Mrs Caroline Matthias Confirmed same person | MemberTrust members | Appointed by academy members | since 2018 |
| Mr David Charles Confirmed same person Former | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2025 · term ended 2026 |
| Mr Jonathan Guy Currey Former | TrusteeTrust board | Appointed by academy members | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record