Best Schools in Tyne and Wear

How many schools are there in Tyne and Wear?

Tyne and Wear has 446 open schools: 314 state primary, 65 state secondary or all-through, 9 independent, 32 special and 26 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Tyne and Wear are rated Outstanding?

55 schools in Tyne and Wear were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: City of Sunderland College, Haskel School, Benton Dene Primary School, Bailey Green Primary School, Whitley Bay High School and 50 more. Counting Good as well, 94% of the 364 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

City of Sunderland CollegeHaskel SchoolBenton Dene Primary SchoolBailey Green Primary SchoolWhitley Bay High School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Tyne and Wear get the best GCSE results?

Of the 62 schools in Tyne and Wear with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Emmanuel College, with an Attainment 8 score of 59.8 and 74% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Kings Priory School, with an Attainment 8 score of 57.6 and 68% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Marden High School, with an Attainment 8 score of 55 and 66% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Emmanuel CollegeKings Priory SchoolMarden High School

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Tyne and Wear have the best SATs results?

Of the 276 primary schools in Tyne and Wear with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Clover Hill Community Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy (97% in reading, 97% in maths); and Monkhouse Primary School (100% in reading, 94% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Clover Hill Community Primary SchoolBenedict Biscop Church of England AcademyMonkhouse Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Tyne and Wear?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Tyne and Wear selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

How close do you need to live to get into schools in Tyne and Wear?

It depends on the school, and the cut-off moves every year with the number of applications. Sunderland published how far the last place offered went at these schools: Biddick Academy, 4.14 miles for 2024 entry; Castle View Enterprise Academy, 2.915 miles for 2024 entry; Christ's College, 4.388 miles for 2024 entry; Hetton Academy, 2.808 miles for 2024 entry; Kepier, 3.06 miles for 2024 entry. We hold figures for 12 schools in Tyne and Wear; each school's page has its own history. These are the authority's own figures, not fixed boundaries.

Biddick AcademyCastle View Enterprise AcademyChrist's CollegeHetton AcademyKepier

Source: Sunderland admissions booklets

How do I apply for a school place in Tyne and Wear?

Apply to your council - Sunderland, Newcastle upon Tyne or Gateshead, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.