Gurney Pease Academy, Darlington
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 7 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
This school excels at making children feel cared for and part of a warm community. Staff provide excellent support for pupils' emotional wellbeing and mental health, and the early years provision is particularly strong with skilled staff who help children develop language and communication skills. Parents will appreciate the caring, nurturing environment where every child's individual needs are identified and supported.
Key Strengths
- Strong safeguarding culture where pupils feel safe and supported
- Excellent pastoral care and mental health support for pupils
- Effective early years provision with focus on language development and communication
- Well-designed inclusive personal development programme covering relationships, health and wellbeing
- Positive behaviour and attendance improvement efforts with clear systems in place
Areas for Improvement
- Inconsistent teaching quality means pupils don't always secure their knowledge quickly enough
- Phonics and mathematics outcomes below national average - phonics check and times tables check results are weak
- Teachers need better skills at checking understanding and closing knowledge gaps
- Curriculum transitions between early years and key stage 1 need strengthening
- Leadership has been slow to address teaching inconsistencies, though recent improvements are starting
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met with an open, positive culture where all staff treat safeguarding as everyone's responsibility and pupils feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Football, choir, board games, dance, residential visits with outdoor activities
Gurney Pease Academy is a school where safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe and cared for. However, teaching quality is inconsistent, leading to variable pupil achievement particularly in reading, writing and mathematics.
At a Glance
51.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 43% to 80%. Maths has improved from 50% to 77%. Writing has declined from 87% to 80%.
Class Sizes
23.4
Avg class size
22.0
Infant (KS1)
25.8
KS2
7
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Train Stations
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
70%
Available places
191 pupils
274 capacity
83 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Darlington
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Darlington
Admissions Demand - Darlington
Places available
1,260
Applications
1,063
Got 1st preference
96.3%
Got preferred school
98.9%
Primary admissions across Darlington (2025/26)
Inspection History(6)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.27655%
Overall absence
22.36025%
Persistent absence
161
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Gurney Pease Academy
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