Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy

About Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy

Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy stands out sharply against the Sunderland local authority average for primary schools. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 90% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of 67%. That is a 23 percentage point gap, placing the school third out of 73 primaries in Sunderland and inside the top five per cent nationally. The school also performs well at the higher standard: 23% of pupils achieved the higher benchmark in all three subjects, while 48% reached the higher level in writing and 45% in reading. Average scaled scores of 108 in maths and 109 in reading are comfortably above the national baseline of 100. These figures are not a one-off — the school has held an Outstanding Ofsted rating across both its most recent inspections, with the latest graded inspection in October 2024 awarding top marks for every category judged, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and personal development.

The school's academic strength is reinforced by strong parent feedback. In the Parent View survey covering September 2024 to September 2025, 96% of respondents said their child does well at the school, with 64% strongly agreeing. A combined 97% agreed or strongly agreed that the school has high expectations for their child, and 95% would recommend the school to other parents. The Ofsted report from October 2024 gave Outstanding ratings for early years provision, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The previous inspection in 2012 also rated overall effectiveness as Outstanding, suggesting consistent high performance over time. With 318 pupils on roll against a capacity of 330, the school is near full, and the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 8.1%, below the national average.

Admissions are competitive: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 96 applications for 45 places, with 58 first-preference applications and an oversubscription ratio of 2.13. The school offers a nursery provision for children aged three and above, and its facilities include a library, chapel, sports hall, playing fields and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include swimming, netball, cricket and tennis, while clubs range from coding and science club to gardening, choir and eco club. The school has identified SEND provisions covering specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. In the Parent View survey, 77% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, though 23% disagreed. This is a Church of England primary that suits families prioritising strong academic outcomes and a well-regarded local school with a clear track record.

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