Hummersknott Academy
Edinburgh Drive, Darlington, DL3 8AR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Executive Principal
- Mr Grant Sowerby
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Advance Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,215
- URN
- 136838
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325241191
About this school
Hummersknott Academy is a secondary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,215 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
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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- 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 | 241 | 253 | 241 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.5 | 45.7 | 47.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.44 to -0.08 | -0.48 -0.66 to -0.31 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 59% | 46.2% | 57.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 69.2% | 74.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 57% | 52.6% | 47.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
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 Hummersknott 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 | 50.5 | 37.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.7 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.8 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,259 |
| 2023/24 | 1,265 |
| 2024/25 | 1,230 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hummersknott Academy compares
Hummersknott Academy ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.8 | 7.7% | 23% | 1,215 | — |
| Carmel College | 53.5 | 5.9% | 19.2% | 1,367 | 0.4 miles |
| Wyvern Academy | 37.7 | 9.4% | 45.7% | 464 | 1.1 miles |
| Longfield Academy | 42.8 | 10% | 37.2% | 660 | 2.5 miles |
| St Aidan's Church of England Academy | 40 | 11.4% | 45.5% | 587 | 2.5 miles |
| Haughton Academy | 38 | 9.3% | 44.4% | 854 | 3.0 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 report3 February 2026
- 28 September 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 23.01%
- English as an additional language
- 3.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.66%
- Persistent absence
- 21.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Carmel College0.4 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Wyvern Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Longfield Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
St Aidan's Church of England Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Haughton Academy3.0 miles
Secondary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Hummersknott Academy ranks 3rd of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Darlington.
- Carmel College Secondary
- Haughton Academy Secondary
- Hurworth School 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 Hummersknott Academy teach?
- Hummersknott Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Darlington.
- Who is the executive principal of Hummersknott Academy?
- The executive principal of Hummersknott Academy is Mr Grant Sowerby, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Hummersknott Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hummersknott 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 Hummersknott Academy?
- Hummersknott Academy has 1,215 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Hummersknott Academy full?
- Hummersknott Academy has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,215 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 Hummersknott Academy a faith school?
- No. Hummersknott Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Hummersknott Academy a selective school?
- No. Hummersknott Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Hummersknott Academy?
- Hummersknott Academy is part of ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hummersknott Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.5 in 2022/23 and 47.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hummersknott Academy rank locally?
- Hummersknott Academy ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hummersknott Academy's absence rate?
- Hummersknott Academy's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hummersknott Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hummersknott 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.