Portland Academy
Weymouth Road, Chapelgarth, Sunderland, SR3 2NQ
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE ASCENT ACADEMIES' TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Stephen Murphy
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Ascent Academies' Trust
- SEN provision
- SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 180
- Pupils on roll
- 207
- URN
- 138526
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 03339991455
About this school
Portland Academy is a special academy in Sunderland. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 207 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Portland 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
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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found the school has improved significantly.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 21 | 24 | 20 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 Portland 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 190 |
| 2023/24 | 204 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report19 February 2025
- 26 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 63.7%
- English as an additional language
- 11.1%
- Overall absence
- 9.72%
- Persistent absence
- 23.7%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sunningdale School1.8 miles
Special schools · Sunderland
-
Thornhill Park School1.9 miles
Special schools · Sunderland
-
The Link School2.0 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Sunderland
-
Hopespring Sunderland2.3 miles
Independent schools
-
Barbara Priestman Academy2.4 miles
Academies · Sunderland
Other schools in Sunderland
- Barbara Priestman Academy Academies
- Beacon of Light School Free Schools
- Consilium Evolve Academies
- Education and Services for People with Autism Other types
- Endeavour SR Special schools
- Harry Watts Academy Free Schools
- North View Academy Academies
- Sunningdale School Special schools
- The Link School Local authority maintained schools
- Thornhill Park School Special schools
- Trinity Academy New Bridge Academies
- Hylton Red House Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does Portland Academy teach?
- Portland Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Sunderland.
- Who is the headteacher of Portland Academy?
- The headteacher of Portland Academy is Mr Stephen Murphy, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Portland Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Portland 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 Portland Academy?
- Portland Academy has 207 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Portland Academy full?
- Portland Academy has capacity for 180 pupils and 207 on roll (115%), 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 Portland Academy a faith school?
- No. Portland Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Portland Academy part of an academy trust?
- Portland Academy is part of THE ASCENT ACADEMIES' TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Portland Academy have?
- The schools register lists Portland Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Portland Academy's absence rate?
- Portland Academy's overall absence rate is 9.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Portland Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Portland 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.