Academy 360
Academy sponsor led · 854 pupils
66% stayed in education · Attainment 8 31.7
Academy sponsor led
Thornhill Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 526of 1,050 places
- Free school meals
- 49.6%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 108
- Ofsted
- Good, 1 May 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Thornhill School Business & Enterprise College (URN 108860, until 16 June 2017).
What the data says
Thornhill Academy has no sixth form. Of the 117 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 68% to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
13% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 41.4 against 46.1 across England and 43.3 in Sunderland, with 33% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in French add up to 6% of the year group, and 8% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Sunderland and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Thornhill Academy | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 117 | 3,005 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 82% | 86% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 76% | 76% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 6% | 21% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 68% | 53% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 7% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 13% | 11% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 5% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Thornhill Academy | Sunderland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 41.4 | 43.3 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 61% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 8% | 41% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.40 | 3.81 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 42% | 36% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 35.8 | 33.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 45.4 | 49.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 45% | 6% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 108 | 100% | 89% | 10% | 20% | 62% |
| Mathematics | 108 | 100% | 88% | 17% | 22% | 56% |
| English Literature | 108 | 100% | 86% | 15% | 21% | 64% |
| Combined Science | 87 | 81% | 65% | 5% | 9% | 37% |
| History | 76 | 70% | 41% | 16% | 26% | 50% |
| Religious Studies | 22 | 20% | 31% | 50% | 32% | 91% |
| Geography | 22 | 20% | 41% | 18% | 25% | 68% |
| Chemistry | 21 | 19% | 23% | 48% | 47% | 95% |
| Biology | 21 | 19% | 23% | 48% | 45% | 100% |
| Physics | 21 | 19% | 23% | 48% | 46% | 95% |
| Photography | 18 | 17% | 6% | 17% | 19% | 83% |
| Art and Design | 17 | 16% | 7% | 18% | 24% | 65% |
| Music | 13 | 12% | 5% | 23% | 33% | 38% |
| Graphic Communication | 13 | 12% | 1% | 54% | 23% | 77% |
| Drama | 10 | 9% | 7% | 20% | 27% | 70% |
| French | 7 | 6% | 18% | 57% | 29% | 100% |
| Statistics | 5 | 5% | 5% | — | 20% | — |
| Bengali | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 35% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Studies | 31 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 20 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 13 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 13 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Sunderland
Biddick Academy
Academy converter · 1,002 pupils
67% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.5
Castle View Enterprise Academy
Academy sponsor led · 993 pupils
67% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.9
Christ's College
Free schools · 796 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.2
Hetton Academy
Academy converter · 681 pupils
70% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.8
Kepier
Academy converter · 1,131 pupils
77% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.6
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.