Northwood Primary School
Pendleton Road South, Darlington, DL1 2HF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LINGFIELD EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Amy Young
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lingfield Education Trust
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 429
- URN
- 142462
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325267222
About this school
Northwood Primary School is a primary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 429 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. 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 6 March 2024, 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 | 49 | 57 | 45 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 44% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 5% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 65% | 58% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 65% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 70% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.80 | - | - |
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 Northwood Primary 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 | 63% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 44% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 394 |
| 2023/24 | 408 |
| 2024/25 | 422 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Northwood Primary School compares
Northwood Primary School ranked 23rd of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 7.4% | 45% | 429 | — |
| Gurney Pease Academy | 73% | 7.3% | 54.7% | 191 | 0.4 miles |
| Harrowgate Hill Primary School | 48% | 6.4% | 31.1% | 407 | 0.5 miles |
| Corporation Road Community Primary School | 71% | 5.7% | 43.9% | 282 | 0.6 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic Primary School | 64% | 4.2% | 15.4% | 322 | 0.6 miles |
| Springfield Academy | 79% | 5.2% | 42.1% | 236 | 0.8 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)
- 45.03%
- English as an additional language
- 19.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.37%
- Persistent absence
- 22.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Gurney Pease Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Harrowgate Hill Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Corporation Road Community Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St Bede's Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Springfield Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Northwood Primary School ranks 24th 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 year groups does Northwood Primary School teach?
- Northwood Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Northwood Primary School?
- The headteacher of Northwood Primary School is Mrs Amy Young, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Northwood Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Northwood Primary 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 Northwood Primary School?
- Northwood Primary School has 429 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Northwood Primary School full?
- Northwood Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 429 on roll (102%), 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 Northwood Primary School a faith school?
- No. Northwood Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Northwood Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Northwood Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Northwood Primary School?
- Northwood Primary School is part of LINGFIELD EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Northwood Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Northwood Primary School rank locally?
- Northwood Primary School ranked 23rd of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Northwood Primary School's absence rate?
- Northwood Primary School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Northwood Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Northwood Primary 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 2 July 2026.