St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy
Thornhill Terrace, Sunderland, SR2 7JN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP CHADWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Marie Lanaghan
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 1,297
- URN
- 138054
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915658904
About this school
St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic girls' secondary academy in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,297 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy, 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
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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 224 | 238 | 203 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.9 | 54.2 | 50.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.02 -0.16 to +0.21 | +0.09 -0.09 to +0.27 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 63.9% | 47.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 79% | 84% | 71.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 70% | 69.3% | 69.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.6 |
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 St Anthony's Girls' Catholic 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 | 52.9 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.2 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.7 | 38.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,330 |
| 2023/24 | 1,321 |
| 2024/25 | 1,306 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy compares
St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy ranked 3rd of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.7 | 6.8% | 21.1% | 1,297 | — |
| Thornhill Academy | 41.4 | 12.2% | 46.1% | 526 | 0.2 miles |
| St Aidan's Catholic Academy | 51.2 | 6.1% | 19.5% | 1,057 | 0.5 miles |
| Southmoor Academy | 49 | 8.2% | 33.3% | 1,398 | 0.9 miles |
| Sandhill View Academy | 38.6 | 10.8% | 51.1% | 743 | 1.7 miles |
| Venerable Bede Church of England Academy | 44.1 | 12.7% | 32.3% | 738 | 1.8 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)
- 21.1%
- English as an additional language
- 17.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.78%
- Persistent absence
- 21.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Thornhill Academy0.2 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
St Aidan's Catholic Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Southmoor Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Sandhill View Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Venerable Bede Church of England Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy ranks 3rd of the 13 ranked secondary schools in Sunderland.
- Castle View Enterprise Academy Secondary
- Farringdon Community Academy Secondary
- Monkwearmouth Academy Secondary
- Red House Academy Secondary
- Sandhill View Academy Secondary
- Southmoor Academy Secondary
- St Aidan's 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 ages does St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy teach?
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sunderland.
- Who is the headteacher of St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is Mrs Marie Lanaghan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Anthony's Girls' Catholic 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 many pupils are at St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy?
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy has 1,297 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy full?
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 1,297 on roll (93%), 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 St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Is St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy a selective school?
- No. St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy is part of BISHOP CHADWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.9 in 2022/23 and 50.7 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 Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy ranked 3rd of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% 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 Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Anthony's Girls' Catholic 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.