Christ's College

Sunderland · SR4 8PG

General information All-through School · 4-18 years Who goes here 796 pupils, 34.9% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.6% on SEN support Behaviour 7.4% absence rate Staff 15.7% turnover Financials £6,250 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Christ's College

General Information

Address: Pennywell Road, Sunderland, SR4 8PG – View on map
Phone: 01915344444
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Julie Normanton
Age range: 4-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 115 families put it first for 89 places – 13 for every 10 places. 75% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 13
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 46 families put it first for 47 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 47 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

796 pupils out of 860 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 278
% eligible for free school meals: 34.9%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (more mixed than the Sunderland average)
English as an additional language: 7% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 15.7% a year (Sunderland 14.7%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 49% moved to another school, 51% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Sunderland: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 16 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 18 (1.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 22 (1.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Sunderland, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 13.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 41 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 19 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 14 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 11 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 43.2
Compared with the area: 1.3 points below the Sunderland average (44.5)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (+0.5 points against an expected 42.7)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 65% (Sunderland 63%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolSunderland averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 1.3 points below the Sunderland average (44.5).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

11th of 18 all-through schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8

#9Venerable Bede Church of England Academy44.1
#10Kepier43.6
#11Christ's College43.2
#12Biddick Academy42.5
#13Castle View Enterprise Academy41.9

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Hetton Academy51.8
#2St Aidan's Catholic Academy51.2
#3St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy50.7
#4Southmoor Academy49.0
#5St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Washington48.9
#6Monkwearmouth Academy45.8
#7Red House Academy44.8
#8Farringdon Community Academy44.6
#9Venerable Bede Church of England Academy44.1
#10Kepier43.6
#11Christ's College43.2
#12Biddick Academy42.5
#13Castle View Enterprise Academy41.9
#14Oxclose Community Academy41.8
#15Thornhill Academy41.4
#16Sandhill View Academy38.6
#17Washington Academy33.1
#18Academy 36031.7

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 83.0%
Went into further education: 74.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Religious Studies
Science Double Award
Geography
French Language
History
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
Business Studies
Art & Design
D & T
German

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 63% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 8% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 3 percentage points below the Sunderland average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 56% against an expected 60%)
3-year average (expected standard): 56%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 78% · Writing 80% · Maths 73% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 68%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 103
Based on: 60 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolSunderland averageEngland↗ Improving Up 10 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 3 percentage points below the Sunderland average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 45th of 75 junior and primary schools in the area

#44Richard Avenue Primary School64%
=45Barnwell Academy63%
=45Christ's College63%
=45Dubmire Primary63%
=45Easington Lane Primary School63%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy97%
#2St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland95%
#3St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland90%
#4Rickleton Primary School89%
#5St Paul's CofE Primary School88%
=6Bernard Gilpin Primary School87%
=6St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton87%
=8St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth85%
=8Valley Road Academy85%
=10Biddick Primary School83%
=10St Anne's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School83%
#12Highfield Academy82%
=13East Herrington Primary Academy81%
=13Hill View Junior Academy81%
=15Blackfell Primary School80%
=15Seaburn Dene Primary School80%
=15St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Washington80%
#18Mill Hill Primary School79%
=19Bexhill Academy78%
=19Fulwell Junior School78%
=19St Benet's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School78%
#22St John Boste Catholic Primary School, Washington77%
#23Castletown Primary School76%
#24Willow Wood Community Primary School75%
=25Fatfield Academy74%
=25Holley Park Academy74%
=25St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland74%
=28East Rainton Primary School72%
=28St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Washington72%
#30Shiney Row Primary School71%
#31Redby Academy70%
=32South Hylton Primary Academy69%
=32Usworth Colliery Primary School69%
=34Diamond Hall Junior Academy68%
=34English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Sunderland68%
=34Hudson Road Primary School68%
=34Newbottle Primary Academy68%
=34Northern Saints Church of England Academy68%
=39Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Primary School, Penshaw67%
=39Ryhope Junior School67%
#41Springwell Village Primary School66%
=42John F Kennedy Primary School65%
=42Plains Farm Academy65%
#44Richard Avenue Primary School64%
=45Barnwell Academy63%
=45Christ's College63%
=45Dubmire Primary63%
=45Easington Lane Primary School63%
=45Grangetown Primary School63%
=45Thorney Close Primary School63%
=51Eppleton Academy Primary School62%
=51George Washington Primary School62%
#53Academy 36061%
=54Barmston Village Primary School60%
=54Farringdon Academy60%
=54Hetton Lyons Primary School60%
=57New Penshaw Academy58%
=57St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope58%
=59Albany Village Primary School57%
=59Burnside Academy Inspires57%
=61Broadway Junior School55%
=61Hasting Hill Academy55%
=63Hetton Primary School54%
=63St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland54%
=63Town End Academy54%
#66Oxclose Primary Academy52%
=67New Silksworth Academy Junior51%
=67Southwick Community Primary School51%
#69Hylton Castle Primary School43%
#70Grange Park Primary School39%
=71Barnes Junior School38%
=71Lambton Primary School38%
#73Wessington Primary School23%
#74Marlborough Primary School20%
#75Gillas Lane Primary Academy15%

View full Ofsted inspection report

3rd of 13 all-through schools in Sunderland for Ofsted rating

#1Academy 360Good
#2Castle View Enterprise AcademyGood
#3Christ's CollegeGood
#4KepierGood
#5Monkwearmouth AcademyGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Academy 360Good
#2Castle View Enterprise AcademyGood
#3Christ's CollegeGood
#4KepierGood
#5Monkwearmouth AcademyGood
#6Oxclose Community AcademyGood
#7Red House AcademyGood
#8Southmoor AcademyGood
#9St Aidan's Catholic AcademyGood
#10St Anthony's Girls' Catholic AcademyGood
#11St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, WashingtonGood
#12Thornhill AcademyGood
#13Venerable Bede Church of England AcademyGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,250 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

18th of 18 all-through schools in Sunderland for spending per pupil

#16St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy£6,931
#17St Aidan's Catholic Academy£6,283
#18Christ's College£6,250

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Red House Academy£10,734
#2Sandhill View Academy£9,904
#3Farringdon Community Academy£9,820
#4Thornhill Academy£9,535
#5Washington Academy£9,236
#6Academy 360£9,167
#7Hetton Academy£8,532
#8Castle View Enterprise Academy£8,513
#9Venerable Bede Church of England Academy£8,360
#10Monkwearmouth Academy£8,229
#11Oxclose Community Academy£8,210
#12Biddick Academy£8,035
#13Kepier£7,915
#14Southmoor Academy£7,662
#15St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Washington£7,434
#16St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy£6,931
#17St Aidan's Catholic Academy£6,283
#18Christ's College£6,250

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Sunderland: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Year 6 SATs ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered