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Best secondary schools in Sunderland

16 of 17 secondary schools ranked by Progress 8 · all Sunderland schools · primary schools

Ranked on Progress 8, 2023/24 — the most recent year each school has published. Official data, not our opinion — but the ranking is only as good as the measure, and a single number never describes a school.

# School Progress 8 Ofsted Places Catchment
1 St Aidan's Catholic Academy Sunderland 0.37 Not judged improving about even 0.98 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
2 Hetton Academy Houghton le Spring 0.18 Not judged undersubscribed 0.82 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
3 Red House Academy Sunderland hidden gem 0.14 Good improving about even 0.97 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
4 St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Washington Washington 0.13 Good about even 1.1 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
5 St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy Sunderland 0.09 Good declining oversubscribed 1.21 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
6 Farringdon Community Academy Sunderland -0.04 Requires improvement about even 0.98 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
7 Sandhill View Academy Sunderland hidden gem -0.08 Good about even 0.91 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
8 Castle View Enterprise Academy Sunderland hidden gem -0.18 Good about even 0.97 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
9 Monkwearmouth Academy Sunderland hidden gem -0.21 Good about even 0.9 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
10 Biddick Academy Washington hidden gem -0.25 Good about even 0.93 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
11 Southmoor Academy Sunderland hidden gem -0.28 Good about even 1.0 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
12 Kepier Houghton le Spring -0.29 Good improving about even 1.11 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
13 Oxclose Community Academy Washington -0.37 Not judged about even 0.94 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
14 Thornhill Academy Sunderland hidden gem -0.4 Good improving undersubscribed 0.61 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
15 Washington Academy Washington -0.99 Requires improvement about even 0.97 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
16 Venerable Bede Church of England Academy Sunderland -1.04 Not judged about even 0.89 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate

Also in Sunderland

1 further secondary school with no published Progress 8 for the latest year — usually too small a cohort to report, newly opened, or a special school. Listed because leaving them out would make this a misleading picture of Sunderland, not a fairer one.

Applying in Sunderland

Knowing which school is best is only half of it — these are the deadlines that decide whether you can apply at all.

Rankings compare published results. They do not tell you which school your child will get into — that depends on where you live, sibling and faith priority, and how many people apply this year. Ask below, or check the Sunderland admission criteria.

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