Mount Pleasant Primary School
Newton Lane, Darlington, DL3 9HE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LINGFIELD EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Joanne Blackham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lingfield Education Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Darlington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 262
- Pupils on roll
- 259
- URN
- 143449
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01325244950
About this school
Mount Pleasant Primary School is a primary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 259 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
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
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- 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 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 64% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 12% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 79% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 91% | 73% | 94% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 70% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.70 | - | - |
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 Mount Pleasant 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 | 69% | 55.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 59.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 272 |
| 2023/24 | 273 |
| 2024/25 | 271 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Mount Pleasant Primary School compares
Mount Pleasant Primary School ranked 7th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 5.7% | 56.9% | 259 | — |
| West Park Academy | 67% | 4.1% | 15.9% | 464 | 0.5 miles |
| St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School | 37% | 4.9% | 33.8% | 216 | 0.5 miles |
| Holy Family Catholic Primary School | 77% | 4.1% | 15.6% | 234 | 0.6 miles |
| Mowden Junior School | 77% | 3.4% | 14.5% | 295 | 0.7 miles |
| Mowden Infant School | — | 3.2% | 8% | 169 | 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)
- 56.9%
- English as an additional language
- 7.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.7%
- Persistent absence
- 18.69%
Location
Nearby schools
-
West Park Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Holy Family Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Mowden Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Darlington
-
Mowden Infant School0.8 miles
Primary · Darlington
Other schools in Darlington
Mount Pleasant Primary School ranks 10th 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 Mount Pleasant Primary School teach?
- Mount Pleasant Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Mount Pleasant Primary School?
- The headteacher of Mount Pleasant Primary School is Mrs Joanne Blackham, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Mount Pleasant Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Mount Pleasant 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 Mount Pleasant Primary School?
- Mount Pleasant Primary School has 259 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Mount Pleasant Primary School full?
- Mount Pleasant Primary School has capacity for 262 pupils and 259 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 Mount Pleasant Primary School a faith school?
- No. Mount Pleasant Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Mount Pleasant Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Mount Pleasant Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Mount Pleasant Primary School?
- Mount Pleasant 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.
- What SEN provision does Mount Pleasant Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Mount Pleasant Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Mount Pleasant Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% in 2022/23 and 76% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Mount Pleasant Primary School rank locally?
- Mount Pleasant Primary School ranked 7th of 28 primary schools in Darlington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Mount Pleasant Primary School's absence rate?
- Mount Pleasant Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Mount Pleasant Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Mount Pleasant 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.