School Chooser

George Washington Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademy384 pupilsWashingtonSunderland
School Chooser Score
22
Below
similar schools
Likely range 12 to 42
Out of 100. Better than 44% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
Reached the expected level at 1162%England 63%
Attendance93.9%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families45%Far more than most schools
Places36 spare384 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher24.9School workforce census
Pupils on roll384Census January 2026

George Washington Primary School is a converter academy in Washington for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 384 pupils and room for 420. About 45 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 23 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 44% of the 50 schools most like it.

Well Bank Road, Washington, NE37 1NL0191 490 6453gwps.org.ukDr Ailsa Taylor headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

58 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1162%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level5%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 89%89%20172018: 81%81%20182019: 82%82%20192023: 64%64%20232024: 65%65%20242025: 62%62%2025
Since 2017: -27%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017†SunderlandEngland
Pupils tested585159745761
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths62%65%64%82%81%89%67%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths5%12%12%18%16%21%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0105.0104.0106.0110.0109.0105.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0104.0105.0106.0106.0107.0104.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score104.0102.0103.0104.0109.0109.0105.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard74%73%69%85%89%95%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard81%78%75%88%84%90%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)69%71%76%89%82%90%
Reading progressReading progress score-3.8+0.5+6.0+7.1
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.4-0.1+2.2+5.1
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged50%48%53%78%74%77%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged75%86%76%86%84%95%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for George Washington Primary School, the school this one replaced in April 2017. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
50%75%
Gap 25 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
57%71%
Gap 14 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%5%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full399 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
95% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

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 a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll384Census January 2026
Places42091% full
Pupils from low-income families45%45% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%77 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan1%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.313 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils8%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)40%£232,500 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls197 / 187
White British pupils91%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.4 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 27.9 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (33), emotional and mental health (20), Moderate learning difficulty (8), language and communications needs (7), Other difficulty or disability (4), Physical disability (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll384405402397400398
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals45%42%44%43%42%40%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%3%3%3%1%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support20%20%21%21%20%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%1%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.9%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school17.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.2%7.0%6.3%7.1%4.5%5.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.5%5.2%4.9%5.9%3.7%4.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.7%1.8%1.4%1.2%0.7%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence17.6%22.6%21.2%26.7%12.4%17.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.52.511.32.51.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers15.4full-time equivalent, 16 people
Pupils per teacher24.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants15.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,925
Teachers who left in the year16%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.42024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£6,451England £7,128. Total £2.6m
Income per pupil£6,904England £7,587. Total £2.8m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,101England £3,405
Money in reserve41%A lot put by: £1.1m, £2,815 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£184kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,451spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m27312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate67 per 1,000 people27% lower than the England average
Typical house price£154,972Sunderland
Nearest bus stop40 mWellbank Road, 19 stops within 500 m

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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Bede's Catholic Primary School, WashingtonAcademy990 m204Good 202480Compare
Albany Village Primary SchoolCouncil0.6 miles214Good 202342Compare
Springwell Village Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles207Good 202371Compare
Usworth Colliery Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles333Good 202050Compare
Blackfell Primary SchoolCouncil1.1 miles142Report card 202651Compare
Marlborough Primary SchoolCouncil1.1 miles150No overall grade 202515Compare
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, WashingtonAcademy1.2 miles227Good 202372Compare
St John Boste Catholic Primary School, WashingtonAcademy1.3 miles178Outstanding 202492Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares George Washington Primary School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats44%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 23 is 4 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 26 · highest 74100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than George Washington Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Beech Hill Primary SchoolAcademy8.2 miles441Good 202363Compare
Westerhope Primary SchoolAcademy8.8 miles426Not inspected74Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 23 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 23% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 12 to 42. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.06
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 58 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.25
DfE progress measure; 58 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.05
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.08
2024/25; 352 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.09
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 58 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is George Washington Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. George Washington Primary School scores 23 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 44% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 12 to 42, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

How good are George Washington Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 62% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 5% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does George Washington Primary School have?

384 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 91% full.

Is George Washington Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at George Washington Primary School?

Pupils were in school 93.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at George Washington Primary School?

The average class had 27.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 8% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Well Bank Road, Washington, NE37 1NL
Telephone
0191 490 6453
Website
www.gwps.org.uk
Headteacher
Dr Ailsa Taylor
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Oak Learning Trust (7 schools)
Local authority
Sunderland
Ward
Washington West
Constituency
Washington and Gateshead South
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 April 2017 (academy converter)
URN
144220 · LAESTAB 3942339 · UKPRN 10063481
Formerly
George Washington Primary School

Where these figures come from