St Aidan's Catholic Academy
Willowbank Road, Sunderland, SR2 7HJ
1,057 pupils · 106% of 1,000 capacity
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11–18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Trust
- BISHOP CHADWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Free school meals
- 21.2%
Ofsted
No overall grade (2025) — Inspected 2024–2025 — no overall grade under the interim framework
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 18 February 2025, published 25 March 2025. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 51.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English & maths (strong pass) | 62.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English & maths (standard pass) | 78% |
| Entering the English Baccalaureate | 72.4% |
Progress 8 is not published nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26 while KS2 baselines are missing (no SATs in 2020/21). It returns from 2026/27.
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Roughly one first choice per place — 0.98 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 179 | 176 | 289 | 179 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 192 | 187 | 285 | 192 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 195 | 195 | 305 | 195 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 180 | 175 | 291 | 180 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 161 | 139 | 245 | 161 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 146 | 125 | 243 | 146 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 118 | 98 | 252 | 118 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 134 | 113 | 289 | 134 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- Thornhill Academy 0.5 km · Good (2024) · previous system
- Southmoor Academy 0.8 km · Good — confirmed 2022 · previous system
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy 0.9 km · Good (2023) · previous system
- Venerable Bede Church of England Academy 2.1 km · No overall grade (2025)
- Sandhill View Academy 2.7 km · Most areas: Expected standard (2025)
- Farringdon Community Academy 3.4 km · Requires improvement (2023) · previous system
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.