Darras Hall Primary School
Middle Drive, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE20 9DS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PELE TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rebecca McVittie
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Hexham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 510
- Pupils on roll
- 459
- URN
- 145781
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01661823857
About this school
Darras Hall Primary School is a primary academy in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 459 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 87 | 59 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 69% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 16% | 15% | 28% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 78% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 92% | 88% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 88% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.70 | - | - |
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 Darras Hall 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 | Northumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 77% | 54.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 52.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 56% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 472 |
| 2023/24 | 446 |
| 2024/25 | 450 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Darras Hall Primary School compares
Darras Hall Primary School ranked 8th of 72 primary schools in Northumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 3.4% | 3.7% | 459 | — |
| Ponteland Community Primary School | 65% | 5.5% | 16.5% | 274 | 0.9 miles |
| Ponteland Primary School | 70% | 4.4% | 7.8% | 479 | 1.2 miles |
| Richard Coates Church of England Primary School | 67% | 5.5% | 10.8% | 328 | 1.3 miles |
| Throckley Primary School | 87% | 4.4% | 48.8% | 448 | 2.7 miles |
| Heddon-on-the-Wall, St Andrew's Church of England Primary School | 69% | 3.3% | 11.4% | 220 | 3.1 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)
- 3.72%
- English as an additional language
- 2.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.37%
- Persistent absence
- 3.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ponteland Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Ponteland Primary School1.2 miles
Primary
-
Richard Coates Church of England Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Throckley Primary School2.7 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Heddon-on-the-Wall, St Andrew's Church of England Primary School3.1 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Other schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Darras Hall Primary School ranks 19th of the 94 ranked primary schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Amberley Primary School Primary
- Archbishop Runcie CofE First School Primary
- Archibald First School Primary
- Atkinson Road Primary Academy Primary
- Backworth Park Primary School Primary
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill Primary School Primary
- Belsay Primary School Primary
- Benton Dene Primary School Primary
- Benton Park Primary School Primary
- Bridgewater Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Darras Hall Primary School teach?
- Darras Hall Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Who is the headteacher of Darras Hall Primary School?
- The headteacher of Darras Hall Primary School is Mrs Rebecca McVittie, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Darras Hall Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Darras Hall 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 Darras Hall Primary School?
- Darras Hall Primary School has 459 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Darras Hall Primary School full?
- Darras Hall Primary School has capacity for 510 pupils and 459 on roll (90%), 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 Darras Hall Primary School a faith school?
- No. Darras Hall Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Darras Hall Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Darras Hall Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Darras Hall Primary School?
- Darras Hall Primary School is part of PELE TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Darras Hall Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 77% in 2022/23 and 78% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Darras Hall Primary School rank locally?
- Darras Hall Primary School ranked 8th of 72 primary schools in Northumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Darras Hall Primary School's absence rate?
- Darras Hall Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Darras Hall Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Darras Hall 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 10 July 2026.