Haberdashers' Abraham Darby
Ironbridge Road, Madeley, Telford, TF7 5HX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HABERDASHERS' WEST MIDLANDS ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Joe Edgar
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Haberdashers' Livery Company
- Constituency
- Telford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,100
- Pupils on roll
- 1,084
- URN
- 135582
- Local authority
- Telford and Wrekin
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01952386000
About this school
Haberdashers' Abraham Darby is a secondary academy in Telford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,084 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Haberdashers' Abraham Darby, 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
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 182 | 176 | 180 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.5 | 39.7 | 37.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.89 -1.09 to -0.68 | -0.74 -0.95 to -0.52 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 24% | 34.7% | 31.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 42% | 50.6% | 51.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 4% | 8% | 13.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 |
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 Haberdashers' Abraham Darby has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Telford and Wrekin average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 34.5 | 41.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.7 | 39.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.7 | 40.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,106 |
| 2023/24 | 1,077 |
| 2024/25 | 1,058 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Haberdashers' Abraham Darby compares
Haberdashers' Abraham Darby ranked 10th of 12 secondary schools in Telford and Wrekin for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37.7 | 9.7% | 45.1% | 1,084 | — |
| Madeley Academy | 47.2 | 6.1% | 40.1% | 1,220 | 0.8 miles |
| The Telford Langley School | 35 | 7.5% | 42.6% | 1,140 | 2.0 miles |
| The Telford Park School | 28.4 | 12.9% | 50% | 698 | 2.1 miles |
| Holy Trinity Academy | 45.9 | 5.2% | 22.6% | 994 | 4.2 miles |
| William Brookes School | 41.4 | 9.6% | 19.4% | 748 | 4.2 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 report24 February 2026
- 27 June 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.05%
- English as an additional language
- 11%
- Overall absence
- 9.65%
- Persistent absence
- 27.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Madeley Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
The Telford Langley School2.0 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
The Telford Park School2.1 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
Holy Trinity Academy4.2 miles
Secondary · Telford
-
William Brookes School4.2 miles
Secondary · Much Wenlock
Other schools in Telford
Haberdashers' Abraham Darby ranks 7th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Telford.
- Charlton School Secondary
- Ercall Wood Academy Secondary
- Hadley Learning Community - Secondary Phase Secondary
- Holy Trinity Academy Secondary
- Madeley Academy Secondary
- New Road Academy Secondary
- The Telford Langley School Secondary
- The Telford Park School Secondary
- Madeley Nursery School Nursery
- Oakengates Nursery School Nursery
- Allscott Meads Primary Academy Primary
- Apley Wood Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Haberdashers' Abraham Darby teach?
- Haberdashers' Abraham Darby teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Telford.
- Who is the principal of Haberdashers' Abraham Darby?
- The principal of Haberdashers' Abraham Darby is Mrs Joe Edgar, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Haberdashers' Abraham Darby been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Haberdashers' Abraham Darby, 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 Haberdashers' Abraham Darby?
- Haberdashers' Abraham Darby has 1,084 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Haberdashers' Abraham Darby full?
- Haberdashers' Abraham Darby has capacity for 1,100 pupils and 1,084 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Haberdashers' Abraham Darby a faith school?
- No. Haberdashers' Abraham Darby has no designated religious character.
- Is Haberdashers' Abraham Darby a selective school?
- No. Haberdashers' Abraham Darby is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Haberdashers' Abraham Darby part of an academy trust?
- Haberdashers' Abraham Darby is part of HABERDASHERS' WEST MIDLANDS ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Haberdashers' Abraham Darby's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.5 in 2022/23 and 37.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Haberdashers' Abraham Darby compare with other schools in Telford and Wrekin?
- Haberdashers' Abraham Darby ranked 10th of 12 secondary schools in Telford and Wrekin for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 32% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Haberdashers' Abraham Darby's absence rate?
- Haberdashers' Abraham Darby's overall absence rate is 9.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Haberdashers' Abraham Darby's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Haberdashers' Abraham Darby'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.