Marchbank Free School
Mowden Hall, Barnes Road, Darlington, DL3 9BL
- Phase
- Free Schools
- School type
- Free schools special
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE EDUCATION VILLAGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Chief Executive
- Mrs Caroline Green
- Religious ethos
- None
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 65
- Pupils on roll
- 63
- URN
- 139691
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325254670
About this school
Marchbank Free School is a special academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 63 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- 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 | 18 | 16 | 10 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 6% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 11% | 31% | 30% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 6% | 10% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 13% | 10% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 96.0 | 102.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 87.0 | 92.0 | 94.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.00 | - | - |
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 Marchbank Free 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 | 0% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48 |
| 2023/24 | 53 |
| 2024/25 | 55 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 63.64%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.48%
- Persistent absence
- 21.43%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Embleton View1.0 miles
Special schools
-
Rise Carr College1.6 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Darlington
-
Beaumont Hill Academy2.6 miles
Academies · Darlington
-
Clervaux Garden School3.3 miles
Special schools · North Yorkshire
-
Hurworth House School Aspris Children's services4.1 miles
Special schools · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
- Beaumont Hill Academy Academies
- Hurworth House School Aspris Children's services Special schools
- Oakwood Learning Centre Special schools
- Pear Tree School Special schools
- Rise Carr College Local authority maintained schools
- Borough Road Nursery School Nursery
- George Dent Nursery School Nursery
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Marchbank Free School teach?
- Marchbank Free School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a special school in Darlington.
- Who is the chief executive of Marchbank Free School?
- The chief executive of Marchbank Free School is Mrs Caroline Green, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Marchbank Free School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Marchbank Free 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 Marchbank Free School?
- Marchbank Free School has 63 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Marchbank Free School full?
- Marchbank Free School has capacity for 65 pupils and 63 on roll (97%), 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 Marchbank Free School a faith school?
- No. Marchbank Free School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Marchbank Free School?
- Marchbank Free School is part of THE EDUCATION VILLAGE ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Marchbank Free School have?
- The schools register lists Marchbank Free School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Marchbank Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Marchbank Free School's absence rate?
- Marchbank Free School's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Marchbank Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Marchbank Free 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.