Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy
Marcross Drive, Moorside, Sunderland, SR3 2RE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- NORTHERN LIGHTS LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Sarah Armstrong
- Diocese
- Diocese of Durham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Northern Lights Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 330
- Pupils on roll
- 333
- URN
- 137831
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915947033
About this school
Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy is a Church of England primary academy in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 333 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 32 | 31 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 84% | 90% | 97% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 23% | 33% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 94% | 97% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 90% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 97% | 97% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 109.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.10 | - | - |
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 Benedict Biscop Church of England 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 | 84% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 90% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 97% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 289 |
| 2023/24 | 304 |
| 2024/25 | 318 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy compares
Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy ranked 1st of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 97% | 3.3% | 9.2% | 333 | — |
| East Herrington Primary Academy | 81% | 4.6% | 17.9% | 476 | 0.7 miles |
| Mill Hill Primary School | 79% | 3.8% | 14.8% | 434 | 0.8 miles |
| Farringdon Academy | 60% | 7.1% | 47.2% | 384 | 0.9 miles |
| Hasting Hill Academy | 55% | 6.5% | 69.3% | 238 | 1.2 miles |
| New Silksworth Academy Infant | — | 5.5% | 24.8% | 215 | 1.2 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)
- 9.16%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.26%
- Persistent absence
- 3.95%
Location
Nearby schools
-
East Herrington Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Mill Hill Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Farringdon Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
Hasting Hill Academy1.2 miles
Primary · Sunderland
-
New Silksworth Academy Infant1.2 miles
Primary · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy ranks 1st of the 43 ranked primary schools in Sunderland.
- Barnes Infant Academy Primary
- Barnes Junior School 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
- Farringdon Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy teach?
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Sunderland.
- Who is the principal of Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy?
- The principal of Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy is Mrs Sarah Armstrong, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Benedict Biscop Church of England 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 Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy?
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy has 333 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy full?
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy has capacity for 330 pupils and 333 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 Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Durham.
- Does Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy?
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy is part of NORTHERN LIGHTS LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 84% in 2022/23 and 97% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy rank locally?
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy ranked 1st of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy's absence rate?
- Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Benedict Biscop Church of England 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 1 July 2026.