Skerne Park Academy
Coleridge Gardens, Darlington, DL1 5AJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Ms Clair Gooding
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Advance Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 248
- URN
- 139195
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325380831
About this school
Skerne Park Academy is a primary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 248 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Skerne Park Academy, 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 43 | 48 | 40 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 44% | 15% | 35% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 56% | 38% | 45% |
| Expected standard in maths | 56% | 38% | 53% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 47% | 23% | 38% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 95.0 | 98.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 96.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.90 | - | - |
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 Skerne Park 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 | 44% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 15% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 35% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 313 |
| 2023/24 | 302 |
| 2024/25 | 266 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Skerne Park Academy compares
Skerne Park Academy ranked 27th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35% | 8.5% | 60.6% | 248 | — |
| The Rydal Academy | 46% | 7.8% | 52.3% | 584 | 0.6 miles |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School | 71% | 2.8% | 7.1% | 224 | 0.7 miles |
| St John's Church of England Academy | 70% | 4.6% | 44.1% | 249 | 0.8 miles |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary School | 85% | 11.3% | 15.7% | 342 | 1.1 miles |
| Abbey Infants' School | — | 3.9% | 3.4% | 264 | 1.2 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 60.63%
- English as an additional language
- 13.2%
- Overall absence
- 8.53%
- Persistent absence
- 27.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Rydal Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St John's Church of England Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Abbey Infants' School1.2 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Skerne Park Academy ranks 28th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Darlington.
- Abbey Infants' School Primary
- Abbey Junior 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
Common questions
- What ages does Skerne Park Academy teach?
- Skerne Park Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Skerne Park Academy?
- The headteacher of Skerne Park Academy is Ms Clair Gooding, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Skerne Park Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Skerne Park 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 many pupils are at Skerne Park Academy?
- Skerne Park Academy has 248 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Skerne Park Academy full?
- Skerne Park Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 248 on roll (59%), so it has space against 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 Skerne Park Academy a faith school?
- No. Skerne Park Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Skerne Park Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Skerne Park Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Skerne Park Academy part of an academy trust?
- Skerne Park 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 Skerne Park Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 44% in 2022/23 and 35% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Skerne Park Academy compare with other schools in Darlington?
- Skerne Park Academy ranked 27th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary 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 Skerne Park Academy's absence rate?
- Skerne Park Academy's overall absence rate is 8.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Skerne Park Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Skerne Park 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.