Our History

The Sisters Of Mercy first established a presence in Sunderland back in 1843, and St. Anthony’s Grammar school was established in 1902.  St. Anthony’s received state recognition in 1904, and in 1921 a Sixth Form was opened to continue the education of pupils Post-16.

St. Anthony’s moved to its current site in Thornhill Terrace in 1939 and has undergone many changes and transformations since. There have been many educational changes since St. Anthony’s was first established in Sunderland, and the school has adapted to these changes too.  The Catholic ethos and support of the Sisters of Mercy, however, has remain unchanged:  St. Anthony’s is a Catholic girls’ school that has provided high quality education for girls in Sunderland for more than a century.

Here is a brief summary of the history of St. Anthony’s:

1972	St. Anthony’s became a direct grant comprehensive
1976	St. Anthony’s became a voluntary aided comprehensive
1999	St. Anthony’s achieved Technology College status
2000	St. Anthony’s became a Beacon School, and joined the Hexham and Newcastle Catholic Partnership
2009	St. Anthony’s added Languages to its specialisms
2011	St. Anthony’s became a Leading Edge School
2012	St. Anthony’s acheived High Performing School status
2012	St. Anthony’s achieved academy status and became St Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy (a single academy)
2013	St. Anthony’s achieved ‘Outstanding in all four categories’ in the 2013 Ofsted inspection and in the Diocesan Inspection June 2013
2014	St. Anthony’s was awarded Teaching School status in September 2014
2018	St. Anthony’s was awarded “Outstanding” in all categories in the Diocesan Inspection
2019	St. Anthony’s was awarded International School status by the British Council
2020	St. Anthony’s was awarded World Class School status
2020	Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Education Trust merged with Northern Saints Catholic Education Trust to form Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust as part of diocesan plans