Carmel College
The Headlands, Darlington, DL3 8RW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Ms Mel Kane
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,382
- Pupils on roll
- 1,367
- URN
- 137622
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325254525
About this school
Carmel College is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,367 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Carmel College, and its latest judgement is set out 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 211 | 210 | 208 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.2 | 53.6 | 53.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.34 +0.15 to +0.53 | +0.38 +0.19 to +0.57 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 62.9% | 60.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 83% | 82.9% | 80.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 63% | 74.8% | 73.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
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 Carmel College 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 | 53.2 | 37.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.6 | 36.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53.5 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,359 |
| 2023/24 | 1,344 |
| 2024/25 | 1,365 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Carmel College compares
Carmel College ranked 1st of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53.5 | 5.9% | 19.2% | 1,367 | — |
| Hummersknott Academy | 47.8 | 7.7% | 23% | 1,215 | 0.4 miles |
| Wyvern Academy | 37.7 | 9.4% | 45.7% | 464 | 1.0 miles |
| Longfield Academy | 42.8 | 10% | 37.2% | 660 | 2.1 miles |
| St Aidan's Church of England Academy | 40 | 11.4% | 45.5% | 587 | 2.2 miles |
| Haughton Academy | 38 | 9.3% | 44.4% | 854 | 2.6 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)
- 19.22%
- English as an additional language
- 17.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.88%
- Persistent absence
- 14.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hummersknott Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Wyvern Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Longfield Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
St Aidan's Church of England Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Haughton Academy2.6 miles
Secondary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Carmel College ranks 1st of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Darlington.
- Haughton Academy Secondary
- Hummersknott 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 ages does Carmel College teach?
- Carmel College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Darlington.
- Who is the principal of Carmel College?
- The principal of Carmel College is Ms Mel Kane, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Carmel College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Carmel College, 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 Carmel College?
- Carmel College has 1,367 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Carmel College full?
- Carmel College has capacity for 1,382 pupils and 1,367 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 Carmel College a faith school?
- Yes. Carmel College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Is Carmel College a selective school?
- No. Carmel College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Carmel College part of an academy trust?
- Carmel College is part of BISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Carmel College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.2 in 2022/23 and 53.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Carmel College compare with other schools in Darlington?
- Carmel College ranked 1st of 8 secondary schools in Darlington for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 84% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Carmel College's absence rate?
- Carmel College's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Carmel College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Carmel College'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 8 July 2026.