Special school in Sunderland
Thornhill Park School
Portland Road, Plains Farm, Sunderland, SR3 1SS
Ofsted
Ofsted has not published an inspection outcome for this school.
This is usual for schools that have opened recently, and for most independent schools, which are inspected by ISI or another approved body rather than Ofsted.
Exam results
Special schools serve pupils whose needs the standard measures were not designed to describe, so results are not shown or ranked here.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 69
- Places
- 80
- How full
- 86% full — 69 of 80 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 15 / 54
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 0%
- English as an additional language
- Not published
- With an EHC plan
- 100%
- On SEN support
- 0%
England 25.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Sunderland 023D, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 19%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 25%
- Households owning their home
- 52%
- Households in social housing
- 37%
- Households with no car
- 31%
- Adults economically inactive
- 41%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Other independent special school
- Phase
- Special
- Ages
- Ages 4–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Headteacher
- Head Teacher: Helen Mitchell
- Local authority
- Sunderland
- Ward
- Barnes
- Constituency
- Sunderland Central
- URN
- 108877
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest special schools
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunningdale SchoolCommunity special school | Outstanding 2023 | — | 0.5 mi |
| Ashbrooke SchoolOther independent special school | No grade | — | 1.2 mi |
| The PoplarsOther independent special school | No grade | — | 3.1 mi |
| Epinay Business and Enterprise SchoolFoundation special school | Outstanding 2023 | — | 5 mi |
| Park View SchoolCommunity special school | Good 2024 | — | 6.1 mi |
| Hill Top SchoolCommunity special school | Good 2024 | — | 6.5 mi |
| Bamburgh SchoolCommunity special school | No grade | — | 6.6 mi |
| Elemore Hall SchoolCommunity special school | Good 2024 | — | 7 mi |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.