Portland Academy
Portland Academy is a special academy in Sunderland for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 207 pupils, 27 more than it has places for. About 63 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2019.
Weymouth Road, Chapelgarth, Sunderland, SR3 2NQ0333 999 1455ascenttrust.org/portlandMr Stephen Murphy headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 26 November 2019, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 19 February 2025 said: “Improved significantly”.
This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 19 February 2025 | Ungraded | Improved significantly |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
20 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Sunderland with profound and multiple learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (89), Severe learning difficulty (74), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (19), language and communications needs (8), Moderate learning difficulty (7), Physical disability (6).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 207 | 208 | 204 | 190 | 185 | 174 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 63% | 60% | 58% | 57% | 54% | 51% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 10% | 11% | 13% | 14% | 14% | 12% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 9.7% | 11.4% | 10.2% | 12.4% | 8.5% | 7.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.9% | 10.0% | 9.2% | 11.1% | 4.9% | 5.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.8% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 3.6% | 1.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 23.7% | 30.9% | 28.6% | 43.0% | 24.5% | 19.7% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 21 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with 100% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 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 special 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benedict Biscop Church of England Academy | Academy | 620 m | 333 | No overall grade 2024 | 98 | Compare |
| Mill Hill Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 860 m | 169 | Outstanding 2024 | – | Compare |
| Mill Hill Primary School | Council | 870 m | 434 | Good 2024 | 82 | Compare |
| Farringdon Community Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 712 | Report card 2026 | 65 | Compare |
| East Herrington Primary Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 476 | Good 2022 | 75 | Compare |
| New Silksworth Academy Infant | Academy | 1.1 miles | 215 | Good 2024 | 77 | Compare |
| New Silksworth Academy Junior | Academy | 1.1 miles | 200 | Good 2024 | 29 | Compare |
| Farringdon Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 384 | Good 2022 | 23 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Portland Academy a good school?
Portland Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in November 2019.
What is Portland Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Portland Academy good at its last full inspection on 26 November 2019. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How many pupils does Portland Academy have?
207 pupils aged 11 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 115% full.
What is attendance like at Portland Academy?
Pupils were in school 90.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 24% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Portland Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Portland Academy have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Weymouth Road, Chapelgarth, Sunderland, SR3 2NQ
- Telephone
- 0333 999 1455
- Website
- ascenttrust.org/portland
- Headteacher
- Mr Stephen Murphy
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- The Ascent Academies' Trust (6 schools)
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Ward
- Doxford
- Constituency
- Houghton and Sunderland South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 August 2012 (academy converter)
- URN
- 138526 · LAESTAB 3947018 · UKPRN 10038144
- Formerly
- Portland College
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- 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.