St Paul's CofE Primary School

About St Paul's CofE Primary School

St Paul's CofE Primary School in Sunderland sits comfortably above the local authority average for Key Stage 2 outcomes, with 73% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Sunderland average of 67%. That six-point gap places the school in the top quarter of primary schools nationally and 18th out of 73 in the local authority rankings. The school is also one of only nine primary schools in Sunderland rated Outstanding by Ofsted, a status it earned in its most recent graded inspection and maintained in a subsequent ungraded visit. With 316 pupils on roll against a capacity of 330, it is a popular choice — oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 72 applications for 45 places and 44 of those offers going to first-preference families.

Digging into the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the school’s strengths are spread across the three core subjects. In writing, 83% of pupils met the expected standard and 37% reached the higher standard — the strongest higher-score showing of the three. Reading saw 77% at expected and 30% at higher, while maths recorded 80% at expected and 20% at higher. Average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 103 in maths, both above the national benchmark of 100. The school’s Ofsted inspection in 2025 rated leadership and management as Outstanding, and early years provision as Good. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 88% of respondents would recommend the school, and 94% strongly agreed or agreed that their child is happy there. The school has held a Good or Outstanding rating across both its recent inspections.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a gymnasium, sports hall, ICT suite, music rooms, art studios, a sensory room and a chapel. Sports provision covers athletics, cricket, netball, cross country and football, while clubs include choir, science club, book club, drama, art club and film club. SEND support is well-documented, with provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. The school has nursery provision for children from age three. With an oversubscription ratio of 1.6 and 48 first-preference applications for 45 places, it is a school that families in Sunderland actively seek out, particularly those who value strong academic outcomes within a Church of England setting.

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