Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #6 in Darlington public Top 36% UK

St Aidan's Church of England Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Dean Lythgoe

corporate_fareST AIDAN'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY LIMITED

location_onDarlington, DL1 1LL

language Visit Website phone 1325373770

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2020

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Students

551

trending_up

Attainment 8

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GCSE Rank

#6 in Darlington

#2,532 of 3,216 nationally

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St Aidan's Church of England Academy is a Academy sponsor led secondary school in Darlington, serving ages 11-16. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

St Aidan's Church of England Academy is an academy sponsor led in Darlington, admitting pupils aged 11-16. It is part of ST AIDAN'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY LIMITED. The school has approximately 594 pupils on roll, of whom 45% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 40, placing the school #6 in Darlington and #2,532 of 3,216 nationally. 40.90% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 10.8% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2020. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 18.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 26.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

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Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

40.90%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)10.8%

Entering EBacc29.10%

EBacc APS3.45

2024

Progress 8 Score

-0.96

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

35.5

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc40.20%

EBacc APS2.97

2023

Progress 8 Score

-0.13

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

42.7

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc35%

EBacc APS3.43

2022

Progress 8 Score

-0.29

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

43.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc31%

EBacc APS3.68

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc39%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

-0.27

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

39.5

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc6%

EBacc APS2.93

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.76

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

35.3

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc1%

EBacc APS2.73

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

90%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)80%

Apprenticeships2%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)7%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

85%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)70%

Apprenticeships2%

Employment12%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)14%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

80%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)68%

Apprenticeships3%

Employment9%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)18%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

85%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)82%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment3%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)15%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

93%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)78%

Apprenticeships7%

Employment9%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)7%

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

10 June 2025

Inspection Report

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07 January 2020

Inspection Report

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16 November 2018

Inspection Report

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12 September 2017

Inspection Report

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10 February 2016

Inspection Report

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08 October 2015

Inspection Report

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30 April 2015

Inspection Report

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19 January 2015

Inspection Report

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07 October 2014

Inspection Report

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25 April 2013

Inspection Report

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16 January 2013

Inspection Report

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16 June 2011

Inspection Report

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27 January 2010

Inspection Report

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20 January 2009

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

6 Evaluations

2020-01-07

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 2 EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2018-11-16

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2017-09-12

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2016-02-10

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

Good

2015-10-08

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2014-10-07

None Legacy

Inadequate

Education

Inadequate

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

25.1%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

11.4%(68 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 594 pupils. During this period, there were 149 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 25.1%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	594	149	25.1%	7.3%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	594	160	26.9%	7.8%	1
2023/24 (Summer term)	597	93	15.6%	7.4%	1
2023/24 (Spring term)	598	152	25.4%	7.1%	4
2023/24 (Autumn term)	595	165	27.7%	8.2%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	548	153	27.9%	6.6%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	551	113	20.5%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	544	129	23.7%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	535	35	6.5%	4.7%	1
2021/22 (Spring term)	542	34	6.3%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	548	66	12.0%	4.4%	1
2020/21 (Summer term)	507	29	5.7%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	510	3	0.6%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	511	28	5.5%	3.9%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	461	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	461	23	5.0%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	460	18	3.9%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	418	16	3.8%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	420	22	5.2%	3.8%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	430	14	3.3%	3.8%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	425	15	3.5%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	430	26	6.0%	3.0%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	444	32	7.2%	3.7%	1
2016/17 (Summer term)	447	16	3.6%	3.0%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	447	65	14.5%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	442	19	4.3%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Moderate Learning Difficulty 24 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 20 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 19 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 9 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 6 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils

Physical Disability 2 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils