Highfield Academy, Sunderland
Highfield Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in Sunderland, part of Iris Learning Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2022 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 16th-highest of the 43 schools in Sunderland with published results, and 4,333rd of 14,452 across England. It was 93% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Sunderland (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Highfield Academy in detail
Results
In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils at Highfield Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 82% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 78% in Sunderland and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 77% in reading and 77% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Highfield Academy
For September 2026 entry, 50 families put Highfield Academy as their first choice and 71 named it as one of their preferences, for 55 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Highfield Academy are St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School (0.5 miles, Good, 93% reading, 93% maths); Broadway Junior School (0.7 miles, Good, 67% reading, 74% maths); Diamond Hall Infant Academy (0.8 miles, Good); and South Hylton Primary Academy (0.8 miles, Good, 69% reading, 79% maths).
Highfield Academy's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.
St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolBroadway Junior SchoolDiamond Hall Infant AcademySouth Hylton Primary Academy
The trust
Highfield Academy is one of 3 schools run by Iris Learning Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 81% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Who goes there
42.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 111 pupils (25.1%) received SEN support and 9 (2%) 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.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is South Hylton (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 1160 metres away (roughly a 15-minute walk).
20 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Fordfield Road-Havelock School (ne-bound), 30 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Highfield Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 249 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Sunderland (148), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
Highfield Academy recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Highfield Academy are Christ's College (0.6 miles), Academy 360 (0.7 miles), Sandhill View Academy (1.1 miles) and Castle View Enterprise Academy (1.2 miles).
Christ's CollegeAcademy 360Sandhill View AcademyCastle View Enterprise Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; 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 April 2013, 13 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
Ofsted rated this school Good at its April 2013 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
42.9%
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 77% to 84% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 77% to 82% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 80% to 84% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
25.3
Avg class size
24.8
Infant (KS1)
25.6
KS2
15
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Highfield Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Highfield Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Highfield Academy 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
- 1
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 8
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 4 serious and 12 slight.
8 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise.
3 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 Highfield Academy
Will you get a place at Highfield Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Highfield Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Highfield Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Highfield Academy.
- Sunderland publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Highfield Academy that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Highfield Academy for 2019 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
93%
Near capacity
391 pupils
420 places
29 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(2)
Ungraded inspection: The school remains Good.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
111
SEN Support
9
EHC Plans
27.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
443
Total Pupils
223
Boys
220
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
22
Teachers
20.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£45,580
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,918
Per pupil
£2658k
Total funding
£274k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.0%
Overall absence
21.7%
Persistent absence
359
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 Highfield Academy
What are SATs results like at Highfield Academy?
Of the pupils at Highfield Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 84% reached the expected standard in reading and 82% did so in maths.
What is Highfield Academy's Ofsted rating?
Highfield Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Highfield Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Highfield Academy is oversubscribed, Sunderland allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Highfield Academy?
Highfield Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 93% of its 420 places.
How big are the classes at Highfield Academy?
Classes at Highfield Academy average 25.3 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Highfield Academy?
Highfield Academy has around 443 pupils on roll. 43% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Highfield Academy?
7% of sessions were missed at Highfield Academy in 2024/25. 21.7% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Highfield Academy?
Apply through Sunderland's coordinated admissions process, naming Highfield Academy 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 Highfield Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 4 serious and 12 slight. 8 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise. 3 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 Highfield Academy?
Highfield Academy is at Fordfield Road, Ford Estate, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR4 0DA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)