Blackfell Primary School
Knoulberry, Blackfell, Washington, NE37 1HA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Danny Patterson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 246
- Pupils on roll
- 142
- URN
- 108833
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01919171665
About this school
Blackfell Primary School is a community primary school in Washington. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 142 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Blackfell 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 30 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 60% | 80% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 3% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 73% | 95% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 67% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 67% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.30 | - | - |
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 Blackfell 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 | 70% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 80% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 180 |
| 2023/24 | 169 |
| 2024/25 | 147 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Blackfell Primary School compares
Blackfell Primary School ranked 15th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 80% | 4.9% | 35.3% | 142 | — |
| St John Boste Catholic Primary School, Washington | 77% | 3.5% | 20% | 178 | 0.3 miles |
| Oxclose Primary Academy | 52% | 5.7% | 53.8% | 183 | 0.4 miles |
| Albany Village Primary School | 57% | 5.8% | 51% | 214 | 0.7 miles |
| Holley Park Academy | 74% | 3.7% | 11.5% | 204 | 0.7 miles |
| Ravensworth Terrace Primary School | 60% | 4.6% | 22.8% | 362 | 0.9 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 35.29%
- English as an additional language
- 3.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.9%
- Persistent absence
- 11.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John Boste Catholic Primary School, Washington0.3 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Oxclose Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Albany Village Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Holley Park Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Ravensworth Terrace Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Chester le Street
Other schools in Washington
Blackfell Primary School ranks 3rd of the 17 ranked primary schools in Washington.
- Albany Village Primary School Primary
- Barmston Village Primary School Primary
- Biddick Primary School Primary
- Fatfield Academy Primary
- George Washington Primary School Primary
- Holley Park Academy Primary
- John F Kennedy Primary School Primary
- Lambton Primary School Primary
- Marlborough Primary School Primary
- Oxclose Primary Academy Primary
- Rickleton Primary School Primary
- St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Washington Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Blackfell Primary School teach?
- Blackfell Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Washington.
- Who is the headteacher of Blackfell Primary School?
- The headteacher of Blackfell Primary School is Mr Danny Patterson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Blackfell Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Blackfell 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 Blackfell Primary School?
- Blackfell Primary School has 142 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Blackfell Primary School full?
- Blackfell Primary School has capacity for 246 pupils and 142 on roll (58%), 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 Blackfell Primary School a faith school?
- No. Blackfell Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Blackfell Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Blackfell Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Blackfell Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 80% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Blackfell Primary School compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- Blackfell Primary School ranked 15th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 87% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Blackfell Primary School's absence rate?
- Blackfell Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Blackfell Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Blackfell 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.