Thorney Close Primary School
Torquay Road, Sunderland, SR3 4BB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Catherine Jones
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 289
- URN
- 108828
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915250808
About this school
Thorney Close Primary School is a community primary school in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 289 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thorney Close Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 31 | 40 | 41 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 68% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 5% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 80% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 80% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 78% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Thorney Close Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sunderland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 61% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 68% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 263 |
| 2023/24 | 296 |
| 2024/25 | 290 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thorney Close Primary School compares
Thorney Close Primary School ranked 47th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 6% | 59.4% | 289 | — |
| Hasting Hill Academy | 55% | 6.5% | 69.3% | 238 | 0.4 miles |
| Farringdon Academy | 60% | 7.1% | 47.2% | 384 | 0.4 miles |
| St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland | 74% | 5.2% | 24.4% | 240 | 0.6 miles |
| Broadway Junior School | 55% | 5.7% | 49.6% | 227 | 0.8 miles |
| Plains Farm Academy | 65% | 6.4% | 48.5% | 164 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 59.35%
- English as an additional language
- 11.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.99%
- Persistent absence
- 21.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hasting Hill Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Farringdon Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland0.6 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Broadway Junior School0.8 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Plains Farm Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
Thorney Close Primary School ranks 31st of the 43 ranked primary schools in Sunderland.
- Barnes Infant Academy Primary
- Barnes Junior School Primary
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy Primary
- Bexhill Academy Primary
- Broadway Junior School Primary
- Castletown Primary School Primary
- Cleadon Church of England Academy Primary
- Dame Dorothy Primary School Primary
- Diamond Hall Infant Academy Primary
- Diamond Hall Junior Academy Primary
- East Herrington Primary Academy Primary
- English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, Sunderland Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Thorney Close Primary School teach?
- Thorney Close Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Sunderland.
- Who is the headteacher of Thorney Close Primary School?
- The headteacher of Thorney Close Primary School is Mrs Catherine Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thorney Close Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thorney Close Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Thorney Close Primary School?
- Thorney Close Primary School has 289 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Thorney Close Primary School full?
- Thorney Close Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 289 on roll (92%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Thorney Close Primary School a faith school?
- No. Thorney Close Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Thorney Close Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Thorney Close Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Thorney Close Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Thorney Close Primary School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Thorney Close Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thorney Close Primary School compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- Thorney Close Primary School ranked 47th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thorney Close Primary School's absence rate?
- Thorney Close Primary School's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thorney Close Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thorney Close Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.