Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
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Community school in Durham, DH1 4SU, taking ages 11 to 18, 1,667 on roll.
Will an address get in?
In the varies round, the furthest-away child offered a place at Durham Johnston Comprehensive School lived 3.337 miles away, according to County Durham. Put a postcode in and it is measured against that distance.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close on 31 October 2026, with offers on 1 March 2027. The address on the deadline is the one the council uses. How it works.
The circle is 3.337 miles, the distance the school admitted from in varies. Real admission areas are not circular: this is the distance, not a boundary.
What kind of school this is
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Has a sixth form |
| How full | 1,667 pupils in 1,700 places (98% full) |
| Local authority | County Durham |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Attainment 8 | 55.2 (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | +0.18 |
| 2022/23 | +0.26 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
| Girls and boys | 49.6% girls, 50.4% boys |
| English as an additional language | 15.9% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 14.5% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where Durham Johnston Comprehensive School's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 61.9% |
| Sixth-form college | 0.0% |
| Further education college | 27.5% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.8% |
| Employment | 2.3% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 1.5% |
DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.
What it costs to live within reach of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 3.337 miles the school admitted from in varies, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is DH7 at £115,000; the dearest, DH1, £240,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| DH7 | County Durham | 2.9 mi | £115,000 33 sales |
| DH97 | County Durham | 2.6 mi | £125,000 42 sales |
| DH98 | County Durham | 2.6 mi | £125,000 42 sales |
| DH99 | County Durham | 2.0 mi | £170,000 113 sales |
| DH1 | County Durham | 1.2 mi | £240,000 86 sales |
Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Durham Johnston Comprehensive School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around DH1: ages, selection, and how full each one is →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report measures the distance from every nearby school to one address, alongside sold prices, flood risk, crime and the other checks on the same house.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Durham Johnston Comprehensive School?
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in varies lived 3.337 miles away, per County Durham.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Durham Johnston Comprehensive School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 3.337 miles was enough in varies, and at 98% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Durham Johnston Comprehensive School guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every County Durham school's distance
All County Durham schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Admission distance published by County Durham. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.