Schools in Washington
Washington was designated a New Town in 1964 and is divided into 18 numbered villages, each with its own cluster of primary schools. The 17 primary schools serving Washington are co-ordinated by Sunderland City Council, which uses nearest-school distance for community schools. The New Town layout means that many addresses in Washington are equidistant from more than one primary, so checking measured road distance rather than straight-line distance is particularly important here.
Four secondary schools serve Washington, including Washington Academy and Usworth Colliery Primary School, which feeds through to Oxclose Community Academy. Sunderland co-ordinates the secondary round, with closing date in October and offers on 1 March. Washington families living near the boundaries of the original New Town villages sometimes find that their closest secondary is technically in a neighbouring village - use catchment.school to identify which school your address is closest to before submitting preferences.
School demand in Washington
Across the 22 schools in Washington with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 90%. 4 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.
4 schools in Washington have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
13 of the schools in Washington are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Sunderland, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
10 of the schools in Washington have a current Ofsted rating, of which 9 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Washington: 1 oversubscribed (17)
Usworth Colliery Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE37 3BL
Biddick Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE38 7HQ
Lambton Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE38 0PL
Rickleton Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE38 9EZ
Marlborough Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE37 3BG
Blackfell Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE37 1HA
Barmston Village Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE38 8JA
Albany Village Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE37 1UA
Wessington Primary School
Primary · Community school
Washington · NE38 7PY
Holley Park Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 0LR
Oxclose Primary Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Washington · NE38 0LA
Fatfield Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 8RB
George Washington Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Washington · NE37 1NL
John F Kennedy Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 7AR
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Washington
Primary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 7HU
St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Washington
Primary · Academy converter
Washington · NE37 2NP
St John Boste Catholic Primary School, Washington
Primary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 0HL
Secondary Schools in Washington (4)
Oxclose Community Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 0LN
Biddick Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 8AL
Washington Academy
Secondary · Academy converter
Washington · NE37 2AA
St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Washington
Secondary · Academy converter
Washington · NE38 8AF
Other Schools in Washington (3)
Usworth Colliery Nursery School
Nursery · Local authority nursery school
Washington · NE37 3BL
Oxclose Nursery School
Nursery · Local authority nursery school
Washington · NE38 0LA
Columbia Grange School
Not applicable · Academy special converter
Washington · NE38 7NY
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Washington are set by Sunderland and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.