Beacon of Light School
Beacon of Light School is a free schools alternative provision in Sunderland for boys and girls aged 13 to 16. It has 0 pupils and room for 80. About 0 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Vaux Brewery Way, Stadium Park, Sunderland, SR5 1SN0191 563 4789beaconoflight.laidlawschoolstrust.co.ukMrs Denise Taylor headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 19 September 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Sunderland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 0% | – | – | – | – | 100% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 100% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grange Park Primary School | Council | 400 m | 208 | Good 2023 | 11 | Compare |
| Redby Academy | Academy | 880 m | 259 | Good 2023 | 64 | Compare |
| Dame Dorothy Primary School | Academy | 990 m | 181 | Good 2022 | – | Compare |
| Southwick Community Primary School | Council | 990 m | 345 | Good 2022 | 17 | Compare |
| St Benet's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School | Roman Catholic | 0.7 miles | 303 | Good 2024 | 74 | Compare |
| Endeavour SR | Independent | 0.7 miles | 0 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| University of Sunderland | Higher education institutions | 0.8 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Sunderland | Academy | 1.0 miles | 247 | Not inspected | 97 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Beacon of Light School a good school?
Beacon of Light School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in September 2023.
What is Beacon of Light School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Beacon of Light School good at its last full inspection on 19 September 2023.
How many pupils does Beacon of Light School have?
0 pupils aged 13 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 80 places, so it is 0% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Vaux Brewery Way, Stadium Park, Sunderland, SR5 1SN
- Telephone
- 0191 563 4789
- Website
- beaconoflight.laidlawschoolstrust.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Denise Taylor
- Type of school
- Free schools alternative provision (Free schools alternative provision, free schools)
- Phase
- Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 13-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- The Laidlaw Schools Trust (11 schools)
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Ward
- Southwick
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2016
- URN
- 142882 · LAESTAB 3941105 · UKPRN 10056934
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.