St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy

St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy has been rated as good overall, reflecting a well-rounded quality of education and a positive school environment. The leadership team has effectively fostered a caring and supportive atmosphere, ensuring that pupils feel safe and valued. The curriculum is strong, particularly in the sixth form, and there is a commitment to preparing students for their future pathways. However, the school's previous outstanding status highlights the need for ongoing improvements, especially given this is their first inspection in a decade.

Strengths

• Strong commitment to student wellbeing and safety
• A good quality of education across all year groups
• Effective leadership focused on ambition and excellence
• Strong relationships between staff and pupils
• Inclusive support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
• Rich opportunities for personal development and extra-curricular activities
• Well-received careers guidance in the sixth form

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent mapping of key subject-specific concepts in some subjects
• PSHE curriculum not securely embedded, affecting pupil knowledge retention

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 3.6% of pupils at St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 11.6% of pupils at St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy received £7,517 and spent £7,273 for each of its 1,308 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,277,000 (£1,740 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,338 and spending £7,295 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Sunderland · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, which runs 31 schools. The nearest others:

• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Sunderland
• St Aidan's Catholic Academy Sunderland
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Sunderland
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Sunderland
• St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth Sunderland
• English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Sunderland
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope Sunderland
• St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland Sunderland
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Seaham Seaham
• St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, South Shields South Shields

What is St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2023.

When was St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy was last inspected in March 2023.

How many pupils does St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy have?

St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy has 1,297 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy cover?

St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.1, and 57% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy?

St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is at Thornhill Terrace, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR2 7JN.