St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland

About St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School in Sunderland holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, but the detail beneath that headline tells a more nuanced story. The school was previously rated Outstanding in 2011, and while the overall effectiveness was not judged in the latest inspection, inspectors awarded Outstanding grades for early years provision, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. The only area judged as Good was quality of education, which is the metric that most directly shapes academic outcomes. On the key measure of Key Stage 2 attainment, 61% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined in the 2023/24 academic year. That places the school below the Sunderland local authority average of 67%, and ranks it 54th out of 73 primary schools in the area, putting it in the bottom half of the LA table. Nationally, it sits around the 54th percentile.

Looking more closely at the KS2 results, the picture is mixed. In reading, 71% of pupils reached the expected standard and the average score was 102, while in writing the same proportion met expectations. Maths saw 74% at the expected level, also with an average score of 102. The proportion reaching the higher standard across all three subjects was just 6%, which is low. Individually, 13% hit the higher bar in reading, 19% in writing and 6% in maths. The school does not publish progress scores for any of the three subjects, so it is hard to say how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points. What is clear from the parent view data, based on 28 responses, is that families are overwhelmingly positive: 100% of respondents would recommend the school, and 86% strongly agreed that their child is happy and feels safe there.

The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 25 applications for 23 places and 19 first-preference offers made. It has a nursery provision and serves children from age 3 to 11. Facilities include a library, sports hall, sensory room, music rooms, dining hall and chapel, and the school offers clubs ranging from coding and eco club to chess, book club, art club and drama. Sports on offer include gymnastics, swimming, cross country, rounders and cricket. The SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, visual impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. For families prioritising a strong Catholic ethos, strong pastoral care and a school where behaviour and personal development are rated outstanding, St John Bosco is a solid choice, though those focused purely on academic outcomes may want to compare it with higher-performing local primaries.

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