St John Boste Catholic Primary School, Washington
General Information
- Address: Castle Road, Oxclose Village, Washington, NE38 0HL – View on map
- Phone: 01914166200
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Anthony Morris
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 22 families put it first for 24 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Roman Catholic
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 25
- % eligible for free school meals: 14.2%
- Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (more mixed than the Sunderland average)
- English as an additional language: 8% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 15.9% a year (Sunderland 12.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 45% moved to another school, 55% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Sunderland: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 4 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary 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: 3.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 6.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 7.9%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.1%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Outstanding 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 77% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 11 percentage points above the Sunderland average (66%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 74% against an expected 62%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 74%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 83% · Writing 80% · Maths 87% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 70%
- Average test scores: reading 109, maths 106
- Based on: 30 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
Year 6 SATs: 22nd of 75 junior and primary schools in the area
- =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%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
4th of 50 primary schools in Sunderland for Ofsted rating
- #2Bernard Gilpin Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #3Bexhill AcademyOutstanding
- #4St John Boste Catholic Primary School, WashingtonOutstanding
- #5St Paul's CofE Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #6Albany Village Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,593 (2024-25)
39th of 67 primary schools in Sunderland for spending per pupil
- #37Farringdon Academy£6,823
- #38Castletown Primary School£6,663
- #39St John Boste Catholic Primary School, Washington£6,593
- #40Highfield Academy£6,543
- #41St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope£6,497
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)