Hurworth School
Croft Road, Hurworth-on-Tees, Darlington, DL2 2JG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- NORTHERN ARCH LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachel Somerville
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Swift Academies
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Stockton West
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 635
- Pupils on roll
- 621
- URN
- 136525
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325720424
About this school
Hurworth School is a secondary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 621 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
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 128 | 123 | 126 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.6 | 53.8 | 49.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.29 -0.54 to -0.05 | +0.12 -0.13 to +0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 56.9% | 52.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 81.3% | 73% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 8.1% | 7.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.8 |
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 Hurworth 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 | 49.6 | 37.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.8 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.1 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 672 |
| 2023/24 | 666 |
| 2024/25 | 645 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hurworth School compares
Hurworth School ranked 2nd of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.1 | 8.6% | 25.9% | 621 | — |
| St Aidan's Church of England Academy | 40 | 11.4% | 45.5% | 587 | 2.9 miles |
| Carmel College | 53.5 | 5.9% | 19.2% | 1,367 | 3.4 miles |
| Hummersknott Academy | 47.8 | 7.7% | 23% | 1,215 | 3.4 miles |
| Haughton Academy | 38 | 9.3% | 44.4% | 854 | 4.0 miles |
| Wyvern Academy | 37.7 | 9.4% | 45.7% | 464 | 4.3 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.89%
- English as an additional language
- 1.7%
- Overall absence
- 8.63%
- Persistent absence
- 27.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Aidan's Church of England Academy2.9 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Carmel College3.4 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Hummersknott Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Haughton Academy4.0 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Wyvern Academy4.3 miles
Secondary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Hurworth School ranks 2nd of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Darlington.
- Carmel College Secondary
- Haughton Academy Secondary
- Hummersknott Academy Secondary
- Longfield Academy Secondary
- St Aidan's Church of England 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 Hurworth School teach?
- Hurworth School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Hurworth School?
- The headteacher of Hurworth School is Mrs Rachel Somerville, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Hurworth School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hurworth 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 big is Hurworth School?
- Hurworth School has 621 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Hurworth School full?
- Hurworth School has capacity for 635 pupils and 621 on roll (98%), 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 Hurworth School a faith school?
- No. Hurworth School has no designated religious character.
- Is Hurworth School a selective school?
- No. Hurworth School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Hurworth School?
- Hurworth School is part of NORTHERN ARCH LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Hurworth School have?
- The schools register lists Hurworth School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Hurworth School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.6 in 2022/23 and 49.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hurworth School rank locally?
- Hurworth School ranked 2nd of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hurworth School's absence rate?
- Hurworth School's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hurworth School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hurworth 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.