St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton
Durham Road, Houghton le Spring, DH5 8NF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Nicholas Reeson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 193
- URN
- 147131
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01915840542
About this school
St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Houghton le Spring. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 193 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton, 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 29 | 29 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 45% | 76% | 87% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 7% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 90% | 97% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 86% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 86% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 109.0 | 111.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.90 | - | - |
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 St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton 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% | 60.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 76% | 63.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 87% | 63% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 209 |
| 2023/24 | 203 |
| 2024/25 | 200 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton compares
St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton ranked 7th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 87% | 3.4% | 6% | 193 | — |
| Bernard Gilpin Primary School | 87% | 3.2% | 22.5% | 417 | 0.4 miles |
| Gillas Lane Primary Academy | 15% | 7.6% | 64.5% | 134 | 0.7 miles |
| Burnside Academy Inspires | 57% | 4.8% | 47.6% | 174 | 0.8 miles |
| Eppleton Academy Primary School | 62% | 3.9% | 34% | 208 | 0.9 miles |
| East Rainton Primary School | 72% | 4% | 28.3% | 101 | 0.9 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 6%
- English as an additional language
- 5%
- Overall absence
- 3.43%
- Persistent absence
- 6.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bernard Gilpin Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Gillas Lane Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Burnside Academy Inspires0.8 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
Eppleton Academy Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
-
East Rainton Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Houghton le Spring
Other schools in Houghton le Spring
St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton ranks 2nd of the 17 ranked primary schools in Houghton le Spring.
- Barnwell Academy Primary
- Bernard Gilpin Primary School Primary
- Bournmoor Primary School Primary
- Burnside Academy Inspires Primary
- Dubmire Primary Primary
- Easington Lane Primary School Primary
- East Rainton Primary School Primary
- Eppleton Academy Primary School Primary
- Gillas Lane Primary Academy Primary
- Hetton Lyons Primary School Primary
- Hetton Primary School Primary
- New Penshaw Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton teach?
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Houghton le Spring.
- Who is the headteacher of St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton?
- The headteacher of St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton is Mr Nicholas Reeson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton, 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 Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton?
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton has 193 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton full?
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton has capacity for 210 pupils and 193 on roll (92%), 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 Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton a faith school?
- Yes. St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton part of an academy trust?
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton is part of BISHOP WILKINSON 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 Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 45% in 2022/23 and 87% 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 Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton compare with other schools in Sunderland?
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton ranked 7th of 75 primary schools in Sunderland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% 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 Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton's absence rate?
- St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton's overall absence rate is 3.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Houghton'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 10 July 2026.