Thornhill Academy

Thornhill Academy has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, now achieving a good overall effectiveness rating. The school fosters a warm and inclusive environment, celebrating diverse backgrounds, which allows pupils to feel safe and respected. The leadership has ambitious goals for student achievement, and has made advancements in curriculum delivery, although some inconsistencies in implementation hinder full potential. The high mobility of pupils and challenges related to their backgrounds continue to affect external examination outcomes, but the school provides robust support to ease these transitions.

Strengths

• Warm and inclusive school environment
• High expectations for all pupils
• Strong support for English language learners
• Effective pastoral care and support systems
• Ambitious leadership with a clear vision
• Improvements in curriculum quality and extracurricular opportunities
• Consistent focus on attendance and student well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent application of learning routines across subjects
• Pupils sometimes move on before fully grasping new material

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 Thornhill Academy attended 87.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.4% 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, 18.6% of pupils at Thornhill Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Thornhill Academy had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 34.5% 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, 21.3% of pupils at Thornhill Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.9% 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 Thornhill Academy received £9,797 and spent £10,524 for each of its 566 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £369,000 (£651 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Consilium Academies, income was £9,167 and spending £9,138 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

Thornhill Academy is part of Consilium Academies, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Washington Academy Washington
• Heworth Grange School Gateshead
• Wyvern Academy Darlington
• Armthorpe Academy Doncaster
• Moorside High School Manchester
• Ellesmere Park High School Manchester

What is Thornhill Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thornhill Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Thornhill Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Thornhill Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Thornhill Academy have?

Thornhill Academy has 526 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thornhill Academy cover?

Thornhill Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Thornhill Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.8, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Thornhill Academy?

Thornhill Academy is at Thornholme Road, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR2 7NA.