Washington Academy

School overview

Washington Academy is a secondary school serving Washington, Sunderland, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 594 pupils aged 11 to 16 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated Washington Academy 'Requires improvement'. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 33.1 — well below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 2.2 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

22% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 39% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Washington Academy their first choice was offered one of its 108 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 73% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 14.6%. There are about 14.2 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 56% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. If you are considering Washington Academy, it may be worth asking how leaders have responded to Ofsted's findings and what has changed since the inspection. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.