Hermitage Academy
Academy converter secondary school in Chester le Street (County Durham).
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
As Headteacher, I am delighted to welcome you to Hermitage Academy. I am extremely proud to be leading the Academy in an exciting phase of its development.
As many of you may already know, the school is sponsored by the North East Learning Trust and working together has enabled us to make many rapid improvements over the last few years, all geared toward providing an excellent experience for our students.
Our fantastic staff are committed to our journey towards excellence and dedicated to delivering the best possible education for all students. Every child is unique, with their own talents and skills, and together we celebrate and nurture this.
We hope this website will give you a useful insight into our school, but the simple parting message from me is that I am deeply ambitious for the children of this community, and I want each of them to leave us having developed the knowledge, skills and characteristics that will set them up for bright, happy and successful futures.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Key facts
- URN
- 147531
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Constituency
- North Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 2019
Governing body (7 current, 2 former)
iAcademy trust: local governing body and trust board.Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr David Ian Clough | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2026 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mr James Blower Former | Chair of Local Governing Body | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · term ended 2026 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Shelley Mitchinson | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2026 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Caroline Bunyan | Local Governor | Elected by parents | since 2026 · until 2029 |
| Miss Sheila Carruthers | Local Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2025 · until 2028 |
| Mr Simon Westrip | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mrs Louise Parks | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · until 2029 |
| Mrs Lindsay Maughan | Local Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2023 |
| Mr David Ian Clough Former | Local Governor | Appointed by foundation/Trust | since 2024 · 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