Harrowgate Hill Primary School
Thompson Street West, Darlington, DL3 0HZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Head Teacher
- Mrs Amanda Abbott
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 708
- Pupils on roll
- 407
- URN
- 135088
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325253300
About this school
Harrowgate Hill Primary School is a community primary school in Darlington. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 407 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Harrowgate Hill Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 83 | 78 | 73 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 26% | 44% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 1% | 3% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 67% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 46% | 56% | 66% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 58% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Harrowgate Hill Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Darlington average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 26% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 44% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 543 |
| 2023/24 | 496 |
| 2024/25 | 440 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harrowgate Hill Primary School compares
Harrowgate Hill Primary School ranked 24th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 6.4% | 31.1% | 407 | — |
| St Bede's Catholic Primary School | 64% | 4.2% | 15.4% | 322 | 0.5 miles |
| Northwood Primary School | 56% | 7.4% | 45% | 429 | 0.5 miles |
| Gurney Pease Academy | 73% | 7.3% | 54.7% | 191 | 0.9 miles |
| Springfield Academy | 79% | 5.2% | 42.1% | 236 | 0.9 miles |
| Corporation Road Community Primary School | 71% | 5.7% | 43.9% | 282 | 1.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report17 February 2026
- 19 September 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 31.14%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.42%
- Persistent absence
- 20.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bede's Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Northwood Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Gurney Pease Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Springfield Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Corporation Road Community Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Harrowgate Hill Primary School ranks 25th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Darlington.
- Abbey Infants' School Primary
- Abbey Junior School Primary
- Corporation Road Community Primary School Primary
- Croft Church of England Primary School Primary
- Firthmoor Primary School Primary
- Gainford Church of England Primary School and Preschool Primary
- Gurney Pease Academy Primary
- Heathfield Primary School Primary
- High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Hurworth Primary School Primary
- Ingleton CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Harrowgate Hill Primary School teach?
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the head teacher of Harrowgate Hill Primary School?
- The head teacher of Harrowgate Hill Primary School is Mrs Amanda Abbott, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Harrowgate Hill Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harrowgate Hill Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Harrowgate Hill Primary School?
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School has 407 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Harrowgate Hill Primary School full?
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School has capacity for 708 pupils and 407 on roll (57%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Harrowgate Hill Primary School a faith school?
- No. Harrowgate Hill Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Harrowgate Hill Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Harrowgate Hill Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Harrowgate Hill Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 26% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harrowgate Hill Primary School compare with other schools in Darlington?
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School ranked 24th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harrowgate Hill Primary School's absence rate?
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harrowgate Hill Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harrowgate Hill Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.