Staindrop Academy
Cleatlam Lane, Staindrop, Darlington, DL2 3JU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Mitchinson
- Sponsor
- Advance Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 675
- Pupils on roll
- 504
- URN
- 144991
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01833660285
About this school
Staindrop Academy is a secondary academy in Darlington. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 504 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Staindrop Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 61 | 56 | 78 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.5 | 47.8 | 45.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.37 -0.72 to -0.01 | -0.16 -0.54 to +0.21 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 42.9% | 38.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 62.5% | 65.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 23.2% | 16.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
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 Staindrop 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 | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.5 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.8 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.6 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 387 |
| 2023/24 | 429 |
| 2024/25 | 469 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Staindrop Academy compares
Staindrop Academy ranked 17th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.6 | 10.1% | 30.5% | 504 | — |
| Teesdale School and Sixth Form | 49.6 | 7.9% | 18.5% | 684 | 4.5 miles |
| St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College | 46.4 | 8.5% | 27.1% | 1,229 | 7.0 miles |
| Bishop Barrington Academy | 39.4 | 11.3% | 51.7% | 599 | 7.1 miles |
| King James I Academy Bishop Auckland | 43.9 | 9.1% | 51.2% | 936 | 8.1 miles |
| Greenfield Academy | 35.7 | 13.2% | 58% | 566 | 8.9 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)
- 30.49%
- English as an additional language
- 0.9%
- Overall absence
- 10.08%
- Persistent absence
- 28.48%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Teesdale School and Sixth Form4.5 miles
Secondary · Barnard Castle
-
St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College7.0 miles
Secondary · Bishop Auckland
-
Bishop Barrington Academy7.1 miles
Secondary · Bishop Auckland
-
King James I Academy Bishop Auckland8.1 miles
Secondary · Bishop Auckland
-
Greenfield Academy8.9 miles
Secondary · Newton Aycliffe
Other schools in Darlington
Staindrop Academy ranks 4th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Darlington.
- Carmel College Secondary
- Haughton Academy Secondary
- Hummersknott Academy Secondary
- Hurworth School Secondary
- Longfield Academy Secondary
- St Aidan's Church of England 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 Staindrop Academy teach?
- Staindrop Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Darlington.
- Who is the headteacher of Staindrop Academy?
- The headteacher of Staindrop Academy is Mrs Sarah Mitchinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Staindrop Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Staindrop 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 Staindrop Academy?
- Staindrop Academy has 504 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Staindrop Academy full?
- Staindrop Academy has capacity for 675 pupils and 504 on roll (75%), 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 Staindrop Academy a faith school?
- No. Staindrop Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Staindrop Academy part of an academy trust?
- Staindrop 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 Staindrop Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.5 in 2022/23 and 45.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Staindrop Academy compare with other schools in County Durham?
- Staindrop Academy ranked 17th of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Staindrop Academy's absence rate?
- Staindrop Academy's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Staindrop Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Staindrop 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 10 July 2026.