Oxclose Community Academy
Dilston Close, Oxclose Village, Washington, NE38 0LN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE LAIDLAW SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Amanda Parkes
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Laidlaw Schools Trust
- SEN provision
- PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Washington and Gateshead South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,029
- URN
- 138923
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01914195120
About this school
Oxclose Community Academy is a secondary academy in Washington. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,029 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Oxclose Community 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 228 | 238 | 213 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.9 | 40.9 | 41.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.02 -0.20 to +0.17 | -0.37 -0.56 to -0.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 30.7% | 31% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 53.8% | 56.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 29% | 35.7% | 38% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
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 Oxclose Community 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 | 45.9 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.9 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.8 | 38.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,122 |
| 2023/24 | 1,113 |
| 2024/25 | 1,078 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Oxclose Community Academy compares
Oxclose Community Academy ranked 14th of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.8 | 11% | 38% | 1,029 | — |
| Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy | 46.6 | 7.9% | 32.1% | 1,334 | 1.0 miles |
| Biddick Academy | 42.5 | 10.4% | 31% | 1,002 | 1.1 miles |
| St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Washington | 48.9 | 7.8% | 16.9% | 1,527 | 1.1 miles |
| Washington Academy | 33.1 | 13% | 55.7% | 627 | 1.3 miles |
| Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead | 53.2 | 6.6% | 24.2% | 1,505 | 2.9 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.03%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 11.01%
- Persistent absence
- 30.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Chester le Street
-
Biddick Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Washington
-
St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Washington1.1 miles
Secondary · Washington
-
Washington Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Washington
-
Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead2.9 miles
Secondary · Gateshead
Other schools in Washington
- Biddick Academy Secondary
- St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Washington Secondary
- Washington Academy Secondary
- Oxclose Nursery School Nursery
- Usworth Colliery Nursery School Nursery
- Albany Village Primary School Primary
- Barmston Village Primary School Primary
- Biddick Primary School Primary
- Blackfell Primary School Primary
- Fatfield Academy Primary
- George Washington Primary School Primary
- Holley Park Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Oxclose Community Academy teach?
- Oxclose Community Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Washington.
- Who is the headteacher of Oxclose Community Academy?
- The headteacher of Oxclose Community Academy is Mrs Amanda Parkes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Oxclose Community Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Oxclose Community 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 Oxclose Community Academy?
- Oxclose Community Academy has 1,029 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Oxclose Community Academy full?
- Oxclose Community Academy has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,029 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Oxclose Community Academy a faith school?
- No. Oxclose Community Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Oxclose Community Academy a selective school?
- No. Oxclose Community Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Oxclose Community Academy part of an academy trust?
- Oxclose Community Academy is part of THE LAIDLAW SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Oxclose Community Academy have?
- The schools register lists Oxclose Community Academy's special educational needs provision as: PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Oxclose Community Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.9 in 2022/23 and 41.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Oxclose Community Academy compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- Oxclose Community Academy ranked 14th of 18 secondary schools in Sunderland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Oxclose Community Academy's absence rate?
- Oxclose Community Academy's overall absence rate is 11% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Oxclose Community Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Oxclose Community 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 2 July 2026.