Longfield Academy, Darlington
Longfield Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Darlington, part of Northern Arch Learning Partnership. It was rated Inadequate at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2022. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 9th-highest of the 9 schools in Darlington with published results, and 2,669th of 3,298 across England. It was 80% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Inadequate (2022)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Darlington (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Longfield Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Longfield Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44.6 in Darlington and 47 across England.
34% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Darlington and 47% in England.
That is down from 42.8 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.47: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 32.8, against 43.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 19 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and Geography.
Getting a place at Longfield Academy
For September 2026 entry, 122 families put Longfield Academy as their first choice and 205 named it as one of their preferences, for 130 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Longfield Academy are Haughton Academy (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.3); St Aidan's Church of England Academy (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.6); Wyvern Academy (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.3); and Polam Hall School (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.9).
Each of them had higher 2026 results than Longfield Academy.
Haughton AcademySt Aidan's Church of England AcademyWyvern AcademyPolam Hall School
The trust
Longfield Academy is one of 6 schools run by Northern Arch Learning Partnership, an academy trust.
What parents say
66 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Longfield Academy (as of September 2025): 74% would recommend the school, 77% say their child is happy there and 59% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (80%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (59%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 172 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 46% to a further education college, 6% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Who goes there
38.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 10.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (80%) and Black (7%).
In 2026, 115 pupils (17.4%) received SEN support and 18 (2.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is North Road Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Longfield Academy (o), 70 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Longfield Academy issued 292 suspensions, 40.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 5 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Longfield Academy are Harrowgate Hill Primary School (0.2 miles), Northwood Primary School (0.7 miles), St Bede's Catholic Primary School (0.7 miles) and Gurney Pease Academy (1.1 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Harrowgate Hill Primary SchoolNorthwood Primary SchoolSt Bede's Catholic Primary SchoolGurney Pease Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Longfield Academy has undergone significant change for the better. The culture is now one where pupils are happy, kind and friendly. Their interactions with adults and other pupils are respectful. Pupils have benefited from raised expectations of what they can achieve. In lessons pupils listen carefully and produce work to expected standards. Pupils understand that other people may have different views or beliefs.
Routines are now clearly understood and followed. These support all pupils to behave well. Staff and pupils report how much better behaviour now is and this can be seen in the orderly, calm school environment. Pupils move around the school well, quickly following staff instructions. On occasions when some pupils fail to meet these high standards, they are supported to reflect and improve. Pupils enjoy social time, where they continue to meet the school's high behavioural expectations.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Since the previous inspection, the school has made significant improvements. The school has ensured that pupils study an ambitious curriculum that is well suited to their needs. There is a broad range of subjects that pupils benefit from. This includes a number of vocational qualifications that prepare pupils to take up apprenticeships post-16. The school is working to stabilise the number of pupils who study the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects.
The curriculum skills and knowledge that pupils need to learn are clearly identified in the majority of subjects. This is being refined across the full curriculum. Teachers have the appropriate subject knowledge to teach the curriculum well. Pupils are helped to remember and build on their previous learning through regular recall tasks. Teachers routinely check what pupils remember and understand. In a few instances, the curriculum is not delivered as skilfully as the school intends. This means that pupils do not achieve as highly as they should in some subjects. Published outcomes for some subjects are lower than the school's ambition.
From Ofsted's October 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Inadequate at its April 2022 inspection - down from Good.
Areas Ofsted flagged
Quality of education (Requires Improvement), Behaviour & attitudes (Inadequate), Personal development (Requires Improvement), Leadership & management (Inadequate).
At a Glance
38.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
66 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has declined from -0.09 to -0.47 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 46.5 to 39.8 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has declined from 39% to 34% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 39.8 | 33.5% |
| Disadvantaged(59) | - | 32.8 | 20.3% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(105) | - | 43.8 | 41% |
| Boys(92) | - | 39.1 | 34.8% |
| Girls(72) | - | 40.8 | 31.9% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(14) | - | 39.8 | 28.6% |
| Non mobile(156) | - | 40.2 | 34% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 172 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
5
Permanent exclusions
0.69%
Exclusion rate
292
Suspensions
40.50%
Suspension rate
80 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 721 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Longfield Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Longfield Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Longfield Academy is in Darlington; for families living there:
- Darlington's school travel policy: Home to school travel and transport policy
- How to apply: Apply for school transport
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 7
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 5 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Darlington is 9 (the median across 48 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Longfield Academy
Will you get a place at Longfield Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Longfield Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Longfield Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Longfield Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Darlington, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Longfield Academy for 2018 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Darlington got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
80%
Available places
718 pupils
900 places
182 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Darlington
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Darlington
Across Darlington council
Places available
1,370
Applications
1,134
Got 1st preference
91.5%
Got preferred school
98.7%
All secondary applications across Darlington council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
115
SEN Support
18
EHC Plans
20.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
660
Total Pupils
343
Boys
317
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
37
Teachers
17.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£56,854
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,588
Per pupil
£5898k
Total funding
£286k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.0%
Overall absence
32.9%
Persistent absence
767
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Longfield Academy
Showing 10 of 14 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Longfield Academy
What are GCSE results like at Longfield Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Longfield Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 39.8. 34% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Longfield Academy's Ofsted rating?
Longfield Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2022, it was rated Inadequate.
What is the catchment area for Longfield Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Longfield Academy is oversubscribed, Darlington allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Longfield Academy?
Longfield Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 80% of its 900 places.
How big are the classes at Longfield Academy?
Classes at Longfield Academy average 23.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Longfield Academy?
Longfield Academy has around 660 pupils on roll. 39% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Longfield Academy?
10% of sessions were missed at Longfield Academy in 2024/25. 32.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Longfield Academy?
Apply through Darlington's coordinated admissions process, naming Longfield Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Longfield Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 7 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 5 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 on a bicycle. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Darlington is 9 (the median across 48 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Longfield Academy?
Longfield Academy is at Longfield Road, Darlington, DL3 0HT.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)