A former colliery township with Norman parish records dating to the twelfth century, Houghton-le-Spring sits in rolling coalfield country south of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear. Penshaw Monument rises above the River Wear. Around 37,000 people live across the town and its settlements, with both Sunderland and Durham city centre reachable in under twenty minutes by road.
Newbottle and Hetton-le-Hole form the most school-competitive pockets of the area, drawing families competing for primary places. Kepier and Penshaw complete the ring of former pit villages that now make up the Sunderland metropolitan borough's western residential edge.
18
Primary
schools
2
Secondary
schools
1
Special
schools
Area Performance
Across 18 primary schools, state and independent. The average Find My School Inspection Score is 7.42/10, +0.07 vs England.
Find My School Inspection Band
Distribution across all Houghton le Spring schools
Houghton le Spring vs England distribution
National Rank
Across all ranked Houghton le Spring schools
top 49% of 14,978
top 49% of 14,978
2026
Houghton le Spring
2026
Houghton le Spring
Local directory
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