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Schools in Darlington

43 open schools · Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and admission criteria · best primary schools

Darlington has 43 state schools: 29 primary, 7 secondary, 1 all-through, 2 nursery. Between them they teach around 16,092 pupils. 35 have enough published data for a score, averaging 4.8 out of 10, and 1 score 8 or above.

4 have a sixth form. 24 take children from age three or under. 12 have a religious character, which usually means the school sets its own admissions criteria rather than the council's. How the score works.

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Darlington covers several towns — jump straight to the schools in yours.

Newton Aycliffe 15 schools
Abbey Infants' School Darlington · Good Abbey Junior School Darlington · Good Beaumont Hill Academy Darlington · Good Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary School Bishopton · Good Borough Road Nursery School Darlington · Good Carmel College Darlington · Not judged Corporation Road Community Primary School Darlington · Good Darlington College Darlington · Good Firthmoor Primary School Darlington · Good George Dent Nursery School Darlington · Outstanding Gurney Pease Academy Darlington · Good Harrowgate Hill Primary School Darlington · Requires improvement Haughton Academy Darlington · Good Heathfield Primary School Darlington · Good Heighington Church of England Primary School Newton Aycliffe · Good High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School Darlington · Good Holy Family Catholic Primary School Darlington · Good Hummersknott Academy Darlington · Good Hurworth Primary School Darlington · Good Hurworth School Darlington · Good Longfield Academy Darlington · Not judged Marchbank Free School Darlington · Good Mount Pleasant Primary School Darlington · Good Mowden Infant School Darlington · Good Mowden Junior School Darlington · Good Northwood Primary School Darlington · Good Polam Hall School Darlington · Good Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College Darlington · Outstanding Red Hall Primary School Darlington · Not judged Reid Street Primary School Darlington · Good Skerne Park Academy Darlington · Requires improvement Springfield Academy Darlington · Good St Aidan's Church of England Academy Darlington · Good St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Darlington · Good St Bede's Catholic Primary School Darlington · Not judged St John's Church of England Academy Darlington · Outstanding St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School Darlington · Good St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Darlington · Good St. George's Church of England Academy · Good The Rydal Academy Darlington · Good West Park Academy Darlington · Good Whinfield Primary School Darlington · Good Wyvern Academy Darlington · Good

Undersubscribed schools rated Good or Outstanding

These schools didn't fill on first preference in the latest admissions year, despite an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding — worth a look if you're chasing the same handful of famous names everyone else applies to.

St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Good · ×0.77 1st prefs/place (2026/27) St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School Good · ×0.8 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Hummersknott Academy Good · ×0.83 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Wyvern Academy Good · ×0.85 1st prefs/place (2026/27) The Rydal Academy Good · ×0.88 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Gurney Pease Academy Good · ×0.9 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Abbey Infants' School Good · ×0.91 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Firthmoor Primary School Good · ×0.91 1st prefs/place (2026/27) Reid Street Primary School Good · ×0.91 1st prefs/place (2026/27) St Aidan's Church of England Academy Good · ×0.92 1st prefs/place (2026/27)

How places are allocated in Darlington

Primary schools: Maintained community school criteria: LAC, medical, siblings, a rural-ward access rule, then shortest walking distance to the school gate — no defined catchment polygons for ordinary community/VC schools. (source)

Secondary schools: Most Darlington secondaries are academies with own policies; LA default for any remaining community places follows distance/sibling pattern rather than hard catchment maps. (source)

Most schools use the local authority's default scheme rather than a school-specific catchment map — see each school's page for its own designated/catchment area where one is published.

Key dates

Entry yearEventDate
Sept 2028 Application deadline 2027-10-31
Sept 2028 Primary application deadline 2028-01-15
Sept 2028 Offer day 2028-03-01
Sept 2028 Primary offer day 2028-04-17
Sept 2027 Application deadline 2026-10-31
Sept 2027 Primary application deadline 2027-01-15
Sept 2027 Offer day 2027-03-01
Sept 2027 Primary offer day 2027-04-16
Sept 2026 Application deadline 2025-10-31 (passed)
Sept 2026 Primary application deadline 2026-01-15 (passed)
Sept 2026 Offer day 2026-03-02 (passed)
Sept 2026 Primary offer day 2026-04-16 (passed)

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