Abbey Junior School
Abbey Road, Darlington, DL3 8NN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MELROSE LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Piper-Nelson
- Sponsor
- Diocese of Durham
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 362
- URN
- 136989
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325380748
About this school
Abbey Junior School is a primary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 362 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Abbey Junior 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 21 June 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 91 | 86 | 88 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 74% | 62% | 77% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 11% | 6% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 71% | 91% |
| Expected standard in maths | 82% | 74% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 74% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 106.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.10 | - | - |
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 Abbey Junior 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 | 74% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 77% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 352 |
| 2023/24 | 347 |
| 2024/25 | 352 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Abbey Junior School compares
Abbey Junior School ranked 6th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 77% | 3.8% | 8.2% | 362 | — |
| Abbey Infants' School | — | 3.9% | 3.4% | 264 | 0.2 miles |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School | 71% | 2.8% | 7.1% | 224 | 0.6 miles |
| Mowden Infant School | — | 3.2% | 8% | 169 | 0.6 miles |
| Mowden Junior School | 77% | 3.4% | 14.5% | 295 | 0.7 miles |
| Reid Street Primary School | 57% | 5% | 30.3% | 364 | 0.7 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 8.24%
- English as an additional language
- 6.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.75%
- Persistent absence
- 5.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Abbey Infants' School0.2 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Mowden Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Mowden Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Reid Street Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Abbey Junior School ranks 9th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Darlington.
- Abbey Infants' 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
- Harrowgate Hill Primary School 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 Abbey Junior School teach?
- Abbey Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Abbey Junior School?
- The headteacher of Abbey Junior School is Mr Michael Piper-Nelson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Abbey Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Abbey Junior 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 Abbey Junior School?
- Abbey Junior School has 362 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Abbey Junior School full?
- Abbey Junior School has capacity for 360 pupils and 362 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 Abbey Junior School a faith school?
- No. Abbey Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Abbey Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Abbey Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Abbey Junior School part of an academy trust?
- Abbey Junior School is part of MELROSE LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Abbey Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 74% in 2022/23 and 77% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Abbey Junior School compare with other schools in Darlington?
- Abbey Junior School ranked 6th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Abbey Junior School's absence rate?
- Abbey Junior School's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Abbey Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Abbey Junior 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.