Schools near Houghton le Spring
22 open schools in Houghton le Spring, Sunderland · Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and admission criteria · see all Sunderland schools · grammar schools in Houghton le Spring
Houghton le Spring has 22 state schools: 18 primary, 2 secondary, part of Sunderland's wider catchment. 22 have a published Ofsted rating, and 18 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Undersubscribed schools rated Good or Outstanding
These schools didn't fill on first preference in the latest admissions year, despite an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding — worth a look if you're chasing the same handful of famous names everyone else applies to.
How places are allocated in Sunderland
Primary schools: Explicit: council abolished the catchment system in 2003 in favour of a primary-to-secondary 'cluster' system plus pure distance; 'does not operate a catchment area system.' (source)
Most schools use the local authority's default scheme rather than a school-specific catchment map — see each school's page for its own designated/catchment area where one is published.
Houghton le Spring straddles a council boundary: the scheme above is Sunderland's, and County Durham also has schools here, applying under its own.
Key dates
| Entry year | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 2028 | Application deadline | 2027-10-31 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary application deadline | 2028-01-15 |
| Sept 2028 | Offer day | 2028-03-01 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary offer day | 2028-04-17 |
| Sept 2027 | Application deadline | 2026-10-31 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary application deadline | 2027-01-15 |
| Sept 2027 | Offer day | 2027-03-01 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary offer day | 2027-04-16 |
| Sept 2026 | Application deadline | 2025-10-31 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary application deadline | 2026-01-15 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Offer day | 2026-03-02 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary offer day | 2026-04-16 (passed) |
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