Wessington Primary School
Lanercost, Washington, NE38 7PY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Anna Young
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 312
- Pupils on roll
- 218
- URN
- 134532
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01914187916
About this school
Wessington Primary School is a community primary school in Washington. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 218 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Wessington 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 29 | 23 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 52% | 23% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 79% | 70% | 47% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 65% | 40% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 74% | 43% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
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 Wessington 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 | 59% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 23% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 243 |
| 2023/24 | 236 |
| 2024/25 | 244 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wessington Primary School compares
Wessington Primary School ranked 73rd of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 23% | 6.2% | 48.5% | 218 | — |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Washington | 72% | 3.6% | 11.6% | 227 | 0.3 miles |
| Biddick Primary School | 83% | 4.5% | 13.7% | 285 | 0.3 miles |
| John F Kennedy Primary School | 65% | 6.1% | 25.9% | 412 | 0.5 miles |
| Barmston Village Primary School | 60% | 5.4% | 64.5% | 206 | 0.7 miles |
| Albany Village Primary School | 57% | 5.8% | 51% | 214 | 0.7 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)
- 48.45%
- English as an additional language
- 3.3%
- Overall absence
- 6.23%
- Persistent absence
- 19.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Washington0.3 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Biddick Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Washington
-
John F Kennedy Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Barmston Village Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Washington
-
Albany Village Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Washington
Other schools in Washington
Wessington Primary School ranks 16th of the 17 ranked primary schools in Washington.
- Albany Village Primary School Primary
- Barmston Village Primary School Primary
- Biddick Primary School Primary
- Blackfell 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
Common questions
- What ages does Wessington Primary School teach?
- Wessington Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Washington.
- Who is the headteacher of Wessington Primary School?
- The headteacher of Wessington Primary School is Mrs Anna Young, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Wessington Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wessington 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 Wessington Primary School?
- Wessington Primary School has 218 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Wessington Primary School full?
- Wessington Primary School has capacity for 312 pupils and 218 on roll (70%), 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 Wessington Primary School a faith school?
- No. Wessington Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Wessington Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Wessington Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Wessington Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% in 2022/23 and 23% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wessington Primary School compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- Wessington Primary School ranked 73rd of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wessington Primary School's absence rate?
- Wessington Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wessington Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wessington 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 1 July 2026.