St Aidan's Church of England Academy
Hundens Lane, Darlington, DL1 1LL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- NORTHERN LIGHTS LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Laura Porter
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Durham
- Sponsor
- Northern Lights Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 700
- Pupils on roll
- 587
- URN
- 135314
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325373770
About this school
St Aidan's Church of England Academy is a Church of England secondary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 587 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 86 | 122 | 110 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.7 | 35.5 | 40.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.13 -0.43 to +0.18 | -0.96 -1.22 to -0.70 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 25.4% | 40.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 48.4% | 59.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 40.2% | 29.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Aidan's Church of England Academy 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 | 42.7 | 37.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 35.5 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 551 |
| 2023/24 | 598 |
| 2024/25 | 594 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Aidan's Church of England Academy compares
St Aidan's Church of England Academy ranked 6th of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40 | 11.4% | 45.5% | 587 | — |
| Haughton Academy | 38 | 9.3% | 44.4% | 854 | 1.0 miles |
| Longfield Academy | 42.8 | 10% | 37.2% | 660 | 1.8 miles |
| Carmel College | 53.5 | 5.9% | 19.2% | 1,367 | 2.2 miles |
| Hummersknott Academy | 47.8 | 7.7% | 23% | 1,215 | 2.5 miles |
| Wyvern Academy | 37.7 | 9.4% | 45.7% | 464 | 2.7 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
-
Ungraded inspection report11 June 2025
- 7 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.45%
- English as an additional language
- 12.8%
- Overall absence
- 11.36%
- Persistent absence
- 35.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Haughton Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Longfield Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Carmel College2.2 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Hummersknott Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Wyvern Academy2.7 miles
Secondary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
St Aidan's Church of England Academy ranks 7th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Darlington.
- Carmel College Secondary
- Haughton Academy Secondary
- Hummersknott Academy Secondary
- Hurworth School Secondary
- Longfield Academy Secondary
- Staindrop Academy Secondary
- Wyvern Academy Secondary
- Borough Road Nursery School Nursery
- George Dent Nursery School Nursery
- Abbey Infants' School Primary
- Abbey Junior School Primary
- Corporation Road Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Aidan's Church of England Academy teach?
- St Aidan's Church of England Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Darlington.
- Who is the principal of St Aidan's Church of England Academy?
- The principal of St Aidan's Church of England Academy is Mrs Laura Porter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Aidan's Church of England Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Aidan's Church of England Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Aidan's Church of England Academy?
- St Aidan's Church of England Academy has 587 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Aidan's Church of England Academy full?
- St Aidan's Church of England Academy has capacity for 700 pupils and 587 on roll (84%), 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 St Aidan's Church of England Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Aidan's Church of England Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Durham.
- Is St Aidan's Church of England Academy a selective school?
- No. St Aidan's Church of England Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Aidan's Church of England Academy?
- St Aidan's Church of England Academy is part of NORTHERN LIGHTS LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Aidan's Church of England Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.7 in 2022/23 and 40 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Aidan's Church of England Academy rank locally?
- St Aidan's Church of England Academy ranked 6th of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Aidan's Church of England Academy's absence rate?
- St Aidan's Church of England Academy's overall absence rate is 11.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Aidan's Church of England Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Aidan's Church of England Academy'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.