St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School

About St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School

St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School in Sunderland is a state primary that is genuinely full, with 237 pupils on roll against a capacity of 236. That tight fit is no accident: for the 2025/26 reception intake, the school received 62 applications for just 30 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.07. Of those, 36 were first-preference applications, and all 30 offers went to first-preference families, which tells you this is a school local parents actively want. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 32.5%, well above the national average for primary schools (typically around 23-24%), reflecting the school's role in a community with higher-than-average deprivation. The school is led by headteacher Catherine Harrison and serves children from age 3 (it has a nursery) through to Year 6, with a Roman Catholic character that shapes its intake but doesn't make it exclusive — the oversubscription figures suggest demand from a broad cross-section of local families.

Academically, St Anne's performs strongly, particularly in the core subjects. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 83% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the Sunderland local authority average of 67%. That places the school 7th out of 73 primary schools in the local authority, putting it in the top 10% regionally and nationally. Results in individual subjects are even more striking: 97% of pupils met the expected standard in both reading and maths, and average scaled scores of 107 in reading and 108 in maths are comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. At the higher standard, 40% of pupils achieved that level in maths, 30% in reading and 33% in writing. The school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2013 rated it Good overall, with leadership and management judged Outstanding. An ungraded inspection in November 2022 confirmed the school remains Good, so the trajectory is stable and positive.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for a primary of its size, including a sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, ICT suite, music rooms, art studios, a library, a chapel and a sensory room. Sports provision covers cricket, dance, tennis, netball, football and cross country, while clubs include art, drama, book club and science club. For families with children who have additional needs, St Anne's lists SEND support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and social, emotional and mental health needs. The school is oversubscribed, so families applying need to be realistic about the chances of a place — 62 applications for 30 places means competition is real. This is a school that suits families who value strong academic outcomes in a Catholic setting, who are comfortable with a diverse intake, and who want a primary that is genuinely central to its local community.

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