Southmoor Academy
Ryhope Road, Sunderland, SR2 7TF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ASPIRE NORTH EAST MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Joanne Maw
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Aspire North East Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,264
- Pupils on roll
- 1,398
- URN
- 138103
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915949991
About this school
Southmoor Academy is a secondary academy in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,398 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Southmoor Academy, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 28 September 2022, 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 235 | 236 | 251 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.8 | 45.8 | 49.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.56 -0.74 to -0.37 | -0.28 -0.46 to -0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 42.8% | 49% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 59.3% | 72.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 34.7% | 49.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
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 Southmoor 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 | 45.8 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.8 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49 | 38.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,464 |
| 2023/24 | 1,436 |
| 2024/25 | 1,392 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Southmoor Academy compares
Southmoor Academy ranked 4th of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 72% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49 | 8.2% | 33.3% | 1,398 | — |
| St Aidan's Catholic Academy | 51.2 | 6.1% | 19.5% | 1,057 | 0.5 miles |
| Thornhill Academy | 41.4 | 12.2% | 46.1% | 526 | 0.8 miles |
| St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy | 50.7 | 6.8% | 21.1% | 1,297 | 0.9 miles |
| Venerable Bede Church of England Academy | 44.1 | 12.7% | 32.3% | 738 | 1.2 miles |
| Sandhill View Academy | 38.6 | 10.8% | 51.1% | 743 | 2.1 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)
- 33.33%
- English as an additional language
- 5.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.22%
- Persistent absence
- 23.01%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Aidan's Catholic Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Thornhill Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Venerable Bede Church of England Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
-
Sandhill View Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
Southmoor Academy ranks 4th 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
- 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 ages does Southmoor Academy teach?
- Southmoor Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sunderland.
- Who is the principal of Southmoor Academy?
- The principal of Southmoor Academy is Mrs Joanne Maw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Southmoor Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Southmoor 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 Southmoor Academy?
- Southmoor Academy has 1,398 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Southmoor Academy full?
- Southmoor Academy has capacity for 1,264 pupils and 1,398 on roll (111%), 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 Southmoor Academy a faith school?
- No. Southmoor Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Southmoor Academy a selective school?
- No. Southmoor Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Southmoor Academy part of an academy trust?
- Southmoor Academy is part of ASPIRE NORTH EAST MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Southmoor Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.8 in 2022/23 and 49 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Southmoor Academy compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- Southmoor Academy ranked 4th of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 72% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Southmoor Academy's absence rate?
- Southmoor Academy's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Southmoor Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Southmoor 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.