A council (local authority) in the North East
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are above England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Sunderland at a glance
How Sunderland's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
81 mainstream schools in Sunderland, best first
Results well above the England average.
62 first choices, 45 offers made
Met the standard at 1197%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
63 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
72 first choices, 61 offers made
Met the standard at 1189%
England 62%
16 mainstream schools in Sunderland, best first
Results well above the England average.
176 first choices, 179 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1653.6
England 46.2
Sunderland, SR2 7JN · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18 · Girls
Results above the England average.
252 first choices, 208 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1652.1
England 46.2
Washington, NE38 8AF · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Results close to the England average.
230 first choices, 209 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.8
England 46.2
52 in Sunderland, highest Ofsted grade first
Sunderland, SR2 0RY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Houghton-le-Spring, DH4 7RT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Sunderland, SR5 3QH · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
8 in Sunderland, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
176 first choices, 179 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1653.6
England 46.2
Sunderland, SR2 7JN · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18 · Girls
Results above the England average.
252 first choices, 208 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1652.1
England 46.2
Washington, NE38 8AF · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Results close to the England average.
230 first choices, 209 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.8
England 46.2
12 in Sunderland. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Washington, NE38 7NY · Academy · Primary · Ages 5 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sunderland, SR5 5JA · All-through · Ages 5 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sunderland, SR3 2PP · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
6 in Sunderland. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Sr2 7ja · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sr2 9ha · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Houghton le Spring, DH4 7AP · Independent · All-through · Ages 8 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Sunderland is a metropolitan borough in the North East with 81 mainstream primary schools and 16 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Sunderland, Washington and Houghton-le-Spring. 92.9% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Sunderland council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: school.admissions@sunderland.gov.uk
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
95.0%got their first-choice primary school in Sunderland in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 37 of 151 councils. 98.2% got one of their top three.2.3% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
92.9%got their first-choice secondary school in Sunderland in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 24 of 151 councils. 97.9% got one of their top three.4.8% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
15 of 33 primary appeals heard in Sunderland succeeded in 2025. 61 of 69 secondary appeals heard in Sunderland succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Sunderland school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
13 Outstanding, 23 Good, 1 need to improve.
52nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 66% met the standard at 11.
93schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 9 inspected are Good or better. 45% got grade 5 in English and maths.
31schools
All 9 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
12schools
Here's how Sunderland's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Sunderland average, 53.
Average primary score
54Sunderland 53
Average primary score
51Sunderland 53
Average primary score
62Sunderland 53
Average primary score
42Sunderland 53
Average primary score
55Sunderland 53
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
SunderlandEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 60 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
9 of the 9 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
66%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
45%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
21%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
30%
Latest graded inspection for the 84 schools that have one.
100%
Good or Outstanding
Sunderland in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 100% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 66% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 43.6 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 21% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.5:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,142 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 87% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 66% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 23% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 8% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 32% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 394, ONS code E08000024.
Sunderland has 168 schools and nurseries across 6 towns and villages, the biggest being Sunderland, Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Hetton-le-Hole.
There are 2% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
30% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Sunderland's state schools each January.
Up 2% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Sunderland30%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Sunderland has 168 schools, including 93 primary schools, 31 secondary schools, 52 nurseries, 6 independent schools, 12 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Sunderland on Eduscope are Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy, Bernard Gilpin Primary School, Rickleton Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
100% of inspected schools in Sunderland hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 9 schools rated Outstanding and 75 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Sunderland, 66% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Sunderland is 17.5:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Sunderland is 20.9%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 41,019 pupils enrolled across schools in Sunderland, with 22,934 in primary and 17,228 in secondary. 31.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 6 independent schools in Sunderland. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Sunderland on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 168 schools in Sunderland by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
