Grangetown Primary School, Sunderland
Grangetown Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in Sunderland. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2017. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2022 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 27th-highest of the 43 schools in Sunderland with published results, and 6,591st of 14,452 across England. It was 76% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2017)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Sunderland (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Grangetown Primary School in detail
Grangetown Primary School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "A reminder to families that school is closed to pupils on Wednesday 7th October. Our staff are working on aspects of English, Maths and Special Needs, and they are completing some training linked to the new government guidelines on Allergies (Benedict's Law). This is our 3rd and final 'closure' (for training) day of this school year."
Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils at Grangetown Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 77% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 78% in Sunderland and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 55% in reading and 64% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Grangetown Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 35 families put Grangetown Primary School as their first choice and 44 named it as one of their preferences, for 37 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Grangetown Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Grangetown Primary School are Valley Road Academy (0.5 miles, Good, 89% reading, 87% maths); Hill View Junior Academy (0.6 miles, Good, 89% reading, 88% maths); Hill View Infant Academy (0.8 miles, Good); and Hudson Road Primary School (1.1 miles, Good, 80% reading, 83% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Grangetown Primary School.
Valley Road AcademyHill View Junior AcademyHill View Infant AcademyHudson Road Primary School
Who goes there
39.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (56%) and Black (30%).
In 2026, 68 pupils (22.5%) received SEN support and 4 (1.3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Grangetown Primary School had 19 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Park Lane (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Commercial Road-Ocean Road (se-bound), 60 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Grangetown Primary School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Grangetown Primary School issued 4 suspensions, 1.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Grangetown Primary School are Southmoor Academy (0.4 miles), St Aidan's Catholic Academy (1 mile), Thornhill Academy (1.2 miles) and St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy (1.3 miles).
Southmoor AcademySt Aidan's Catholic AcademyThornhill AcademySt Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from June 2017, 9 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's November 2022 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Grangetown is a caring community where children thrive. The school excels at teaching reading through a strong phonics programme and uses engaging resources to make learning enjoyable. Teachers work hard to support all children, especially those with additional needs, and provide enriching experiences like trips and clubs that help children learn and develop.
Key Strengths
- Strong phonics and reading programme with consistent delivery across the school and positive pupil attitudes to reading
- Excellent provision for pupils with special educational needs, with quick identification and adapted activities
- Well-chosen resources and engaging teaching that supports pupils' learning effectively
- Ambitious, community-focused curriculum with enriching experiences like residential trips
- Positive behaviour and strong school community with pupils feeling safe and respected
Areas for Improvement
- Teachers do not always identify and correct mistakes in pupils' work such as incorrect letter or number formation, leading to repeated errors
- Some reading interventions are not precisely matched to pupils' gaps in knowledge, limiting progress for some struggling readers
- Subject leaders lack sufficient understanding of the early years curriculum to check if plans are being implemented effectively
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with leaders knowing pupils and families well, quickly identifying at-risk pupils, and ensuring staff are alert to signs of abuse with appropriate reporting procedures in place.
Extracurricular Activities
Arts and crafts club, fitness club, school council, performances for parents, Year 6 residential visit, trips to Segedunum Roman Fort, international week
Grangetown Primary School continues to be a good school with a strong sense of community where pupils feel happy, safe and well cared for. The school has an ambitious curriculum and strong phonics and reading programme, though some areas need further development.
At a Glance
31.5%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 55% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 64% to 77% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 67% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
19.0
Avg class size
18.3
Infant (KS1)
19.7
KS2
12
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Grangetown Primary School
Sunderland Schools
8 Jul 2026
New Playground Equipment!
27 Oct 2023
Hall Roof Repaired!
25 Oct 2023
See you at the Halloween Disco!
20 Oct 2023
This Week's Achievers!
6 Oct 2023
Halloween Disco!
2 Oct 2023
From Grangetown Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Grangetown Primary School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Grangetown Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Grangetown Primary School is in Sunderland; for families living there:
Apply to Sunderland for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 17
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 12 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Sunderland is 13 (the median across 125 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Grangetown Primary School
Will you get a place at Grangetown Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Grangetown Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Grangetown Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Grangetown Primary School.
- Sunderland publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Grangetown Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Grangetown Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Sunderland got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
76%
Available places
239 pupils
315 places
76 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Sunderland
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Sunderland
Across Sunderland council
Places available
3,430
Applications
2,737
Got 1st preference
95.0%
Got preferred school
98.2%
All primary applications across Sunderland council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
68
SEN Support
4
EHC Plans
23.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
302
Total Pupils
142
Boys
160
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
19
Teachers
15.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,602
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,097
Per pupil
£1693k
Total funding
£114k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.3%
Overall absence
22.1%
Persistent absence
213
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Questions parents ask about Grangetown Primary School
What are SATs results like at Grangetown Primary School?
Of the pupils at Grangetown Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 80% reached the expected standard in reading and 77% did so in maths.
What is Grangetown Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Grangetown Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2017, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Grangetown Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Grangetown Primary School is oversubscribed, Sunderland allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Grangetown Primary School?
Grangetown Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 76% of its 315 places.
How big are the classes at Grangetown Primary School?
Classes at Grangetown Primary School average 19 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Grangetown Primary School?
Grangetown Primary School has around 302 pupils on roll. 32% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Grangetown Primary School?
7.3% of sessions were missed at Grangetown Primary School in 2024/25. 22.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Grangetown Primary School?
Apply through Sunderland's coordinated admissions process, naming Grangetown Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Grangetown Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 12 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Sunderland is 13 (the median across 125 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Grangetown Primary School?
Grangetown Primary School is at Spelter Works Road, Grangetown, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR2 8PX.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)