Red House Academy
Rutherglen Road, Red House Estate, Sunderland, SR5 5LN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Mike Fairless
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Northern Education Trust
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 432
- URN
- 135878
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915111930
About this school
Red House Academy is a secondary academy in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 432 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 63 | 84 | 78 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.4 | 43.1 | 44.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.50 -0.86 to -0.14 | +0.14 -0.18 to +0.46 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 45.2% | 51.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 71.4% | 65.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 49% | 42.9% | 41% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Red House Academy 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 | 38.4 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.1 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.8 | 38.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 423 |
| 2023/24 | 464 |
| 2024/25 | 445 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Red House Academy compares
Red House Academy ranked 7th of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.8 | 10.3% | 56.2% | 432 | — |
| Castle View Enterprise Academy | 41.9 | 9.8% | 46.6% | 993 | 1.3 miles |
| Monkwearmouth Academy | 45.8 | 10.2% | 30.1% | 810 | 1.5 miles |
| Boldon School | 37.1 | 12.5% | 53.1% | 1,043 | 1.8 miles |
| St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy | 50.7 | 6.8% | 21.1% | 1,297 | 2.3 miles |
| Thornhill Academy | 41.4 | 12.2% | 46.1% | 526 | 2.5 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
-
Ungraded inspection report12 March 2025
- 14 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 56.18%
- English as an additional language
- 7.2%
- Overall absence
- 10.33%
- Persistent absence
- 29.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Castle View Enterprise Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Monkwearmouth Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Boldon School1.8 miles
Secondary · Boldon Colliery
-
St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Thornhill Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
Red House Academy ranks 6th of the 13 ranked secondary schools in Sunderland.
- Castle View Enterprise Academy Secondary
- Farringdon Community Academy Secondary
- Monkwearmouth Academy Secondary
- Sandhill View Academy Secondary
- Southmoor Academy Secondary
- St Aidan's Catholic Academy Secondary
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy Secondary
- Thornhill Academy Secondary
- Venerable Bede Church of England Academy Secondary
- Whitburn Church of England Academy Secondary
- Hylton Red House Nursery School Nursery
- Mill Hill Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does Red House Academy teach?
- Red House Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Sunderland.
- Who is the principal of Red House Academy?
- The principal of Red House Academy is Mr Mike Fairless, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Red House Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Red House Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Red House Academy?
- Red House Academy has 432 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Red House Academy full?
- Red House Academy has capacity for 600 pupils and 432 on roll (72%), 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 Red House Academy a faith school?
- No. Red House Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Red House Academy a selective school?
- No. Red House Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Red House Academy?
- Red House Academy is part of NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Red House Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.4 in 2022/23 and 44.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Red House Academy rank locally?
- Red House Academy ranked 7th of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Red House Academy's absence rate?
- Red House Academy's overall absence rate is 10.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Red House Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Red House Academy'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 7 July 2026.