St Paul's CofE Primary School
Waterworks Road, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0LW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Quinn-Briton
- Diocese
- Diocese of Durham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 330
- Pupils on roll
- 332
- URN
- 108836
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915210055
About this school
St Paul's CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 332 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Paul's CofE 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 April 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
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 | 30 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 81% | 73% | 88% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 10% | 19% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 77% | 97% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 80% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 70% | 94% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 103.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.60 | - | - |
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 St Paul's CofE 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 | 81% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 88% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 290 |
| 2023/24 | 301 |
| 2024/25 | 316 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's CofE Primary School compares
St Paul's CofE Primary School ranked 5th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 88% | 4.2% | 14.9% | 332 | — |
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope | 58% | 3.7% | 20.1% | 184 | 0.2 miles |
| Ryhope Infant School Academy | — | 5.6% | 36.3% | 172 | 0.4 miles |
| Ryhope Junior School | 67% | 5.4% | 52.7% | 158 | 0.4 miles |
| St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth | 85% | 4.3% | 21.1% | 207 | 1.3 miles |
| New Silksworth Academy Infant | — | 5.5% | 24.8% | 215 | 1.3 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)
- 14.86%
- English as an additional language
- 2.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.19%
- Persistent absence
- 8.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Ryhope0.2 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Ryhope Infant School Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Ryhope Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Silksworth1.3 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
New Silksworth Academy Infant1.3 miles
Primary · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
St Paul's CofE Primary School ranks 4th 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School teach?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Sunderland.
- Who is the headteacher of St Paul's CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Paul's CofE Primary School is Mrs Lisa Quinn-Briton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Paul's CofE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's CofE 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School has 332 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Paul's CofE Primary School full?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School has capacity for 330 pupils and 332 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Durham.
- Does St Paul's CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Paul's CofE Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Paul's CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 81% in 2022/23 and 88% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Paul's CofE Primary School compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School ranked 5th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 96% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Paul's CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's CofE 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.