St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland, Sunderland

In its own words: ""It started with a picture of a tree on a wall and now it is alive and growing." At St. Mary's, we embarked on a journey to create a bespoke curriculum rooted in four core values: Belief, Rights, Environment, and Wellbeing (BREW) ."

In 2025, 95% of Year 6 pupils at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland reached the expected standard in reading and 97% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 78% in Sunderland and 77% and 75% across England.

Results were similar in 2024 (95% in reading, 98% in maths).

For September 2026 entry, 71 families put St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland as their first choice and 109 named it as one of their preferences, for 60 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 11 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state primary schools to St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland are Richard Avenue Primary School (0.2 miles, Good, 69% reading, 74% maths); Barnes Infant Academy (0.5 miles, Good); Barnes Junior School (0.6 miles, Good, 60% reading, 47% maths); and Plains Farm Academy (0.7 miles, Good, 74% reading, 65% maths).

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland's 2025 results were higher than all 3 of them.

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland is one of 31 schools run by Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's primary schools, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

108 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland (as of September 2025): 87% would recommend the school, 95% say their child is happy there and 36% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (95%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (36%).

6.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 11.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (79%) and Black (15%).

In 2026, 88 pupils (18.6%) received SEN support and 4 (0.8%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest tram or metro stop is University (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 930 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).

15 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Durham Road-Dunelm South (s-bound), 120 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 562 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Sunderland (148), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland issued 1 suspension, 0.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland are Thornhill Academy (0.2 miles), St Aidan's Catholic Academy (0.4 miles), St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy (0.4 miles) and Southmoor Academy (0.9 miles).