Red Hall Primary School, Darlington
Red Hall Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in Darlington. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 29th-highest of the 29 schools in Darlington with published results, and 14,346th of 14,452 across England. It was 81% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Darlington (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Red Hall Primary School in detail
Results
In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils at Red Hall Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 38% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 76% in Darlington and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 58% in reading and 26% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Red Hall Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 21 families put Red Hall Primary School as their first choice and 30 named it as one of their preferences, for 23 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Red Hall Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Red Hall Primary School are Springfield Academy (0.6 miles, Good, 79% reading, 79% maths); Heathfield Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 80% reading, 72% maths); Whinfield Primary School (0.7 miles, 79% reading, 85% maths); and Gurney Pease Academy (0.9 miles, Good, 80% reading, 77% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Red Hall Primary School.
Springfield AcademyHeathfield Primary SchoolWhinfield Primary SchoolGurney Pease Academy
Who goes there
53.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 11.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 77 pupils (37.2%) received SEN support and 19 (9.2%) 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 a moderate learning difficulty.
Red Hall Primary School has a SEN unit for social, emotional and mental health needs: 16 places, 13 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is North Road Rail Station, about 1.4 miles away in a straight line.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Badminton Close (i), 250 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Red Hall Primary School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Red Hall Primary School issued 110 suspensions, 53.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Red Hall Primary School are Haughton Academy (0.6 miles), St Aidan's Church of England Academy (0.9 miles) and Longfield Academy (1.7 miles).
Haughton AcademySt Aidan's Church of England AcademyLongfield Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; 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 agoThis judgement is from April 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Red Hall provides a caring, nurturing environment where children thrive and develop a love of learning. Staff are highly trained and skilled at identifying individual needs, with excellent support for all pupils including those with special educational needs. The school prepares pupils well for life beyond school through a rich curriculum that includes character development, well-being activities and a focus on respect and inclusion.
Key Strengths
- Pupils are happy, polite and well-behaved, with warm relationships with staff
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs through the Strive provision
- Strong early reading programme with recent staff training improving phonics delivery
- Well-designed curriculum that extends beyond academics with meaningful educational visits
- Effective safeguarding arrangements with good pastoral support for pupils' emotional well-being
Areas for Improvement
- Some older pupils have gaps in knowledge that are not identified and addressed well enough, affecting their ability to learn securely
- Persistent absence is too high - some pupils miss significant amounts of school and struggle to catch up
- Need to strengthen engagement with parents and carers to improve regular attendance
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with well-trained staff ensuring pupils are safe and know how to keep themselves safe physically and mentally.
Extracurricular Activities
Educational visits including climbing Roseberry Topping, well-being activities
Red Hall Primary School is a Good primary school where pupils are happy, positive and well cared for by nurturing staff. The school has a high-quality curriculum designed to meet the needs of all pupils, with particularly effective support for children with special educational needs.
At a Glance
53.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
SEN unit: SEMH
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 58% to 38% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 26% to 38% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 58% to 46% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
19.4
Avg class size
19.0
Infant (KS1)
24.8
KS2
10
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Red Hall Primary School
Before and after school care
Red Hall Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Darlington
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Red Hall Primary School.
- Secret Garden (Darlington) Limited at Springfield Primary910m away · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Red Hall Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Red Hall Primary School 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
- 9
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 9 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 8 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle.
0 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 Red Hall Primary School
Will you get a place at Red Hall Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Red Hall Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Red Hall Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Red Hall Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Darlington, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Red Hall Primary School for 2014 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
81%
Available places
170 pupils
210 places
40 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
1,260
Applications
1,075
Got 1st preference
92.7%
Got preferred school
98.8%
All primary applications across Darlington council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
77
SEN Support
19
EHC Plans
46.4%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Red Hall Primary School has a SEN unit for social, emotional and mental health needs: 16 places, 13 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
207
Total Pupils
100
Boys
107
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
10
Teachers
20.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,693
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,973
Per pupil
£1435k
Total funding
£147k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
8.8%
Overall absence
31.1%
Persistent absence
161
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Red Hall Primary School
Questions parents ask about Red Hall Primary School
What are SATs results like at Red Hall Primary School?
Of the pupils at Red Hall Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 38% reached the expected standard in reading and 38% did so in maths.
What is Red Hall Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Red Hall Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Red Hall Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Red Hall Primary School is oversubscribed, Darlington allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Red Hall Primary School?
Red Hall Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 81% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at Red Hall Primary School?
Classes at Red Hall Primary School average 19.4 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Red Hall Primary School?
Red Hall Primary School has around 207 pupils on roll. 53% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Red Hall Primary School have specialist SEN provision?
Red Hall Primary School has a SEN unit for social, emotional and mental health needs: 16 places, 13 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Red Hall Primary School?
8.8% of sessions were missed at Red Hall Primary School in 2024/25. 31.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Red Hall Primary School?
Apply through Darlington's coordinated admissions process, naming Red Hall Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Red Hall Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Red Hall Primary School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Red Hall Primary School: Secret Garden (Darlington) Limited at Springfield Primary (910m away, registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near Red Hall Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 9 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 8 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle. 0 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 Red Hall Primary School?
Red Hall Primary School is at Headingley Crescent, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 2ST.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)