Living in Darlington with children
Darlington, Darlington and County Durham and North Yorkshire. What the published figures say about its schools, its homes and daily life, each with its source and date. 93,022 people in 42,579 households; 26.3% of households have dependent children (Census 2021 (ONS, via NOMIS), summed over the town's output areas).
Schools
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SourceDfE results by phase (the year is in each table's heading). Inspections: Ofsted and ISI. Last place offered: the council's offer-day figures.
School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.
How it is worked outRank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase, from three years of DfE results (kinplace's league table, how it is worked out).
- Schools with hidden or no results get no rank.
Every school in Darlington, with inspection, league band and the last place offered
State primary schools (30)
| School | Inspection | League rank | Last place offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croft Church of England Primary School | Good | Top 3% (6/245) in North Yorkshire | 4.473 miles (2026) |
| Ingleton CofE Primary School | Standards maintained | Top 3% (5/193) in County Durham | — |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary School | School remains Good | 1st (1/28) in Darlington | 1.147 miles (2026) |
| Staindrop CofE (Controlled) Primary School | Good | Top 9% (16/193) in County Durham | — |
| Hurworth Primary School | School remains Good | Top 8% (2/28) in Darlington | 3.591 miles (2026) |
| Springfield Academy | Ofsted report card | Top 11% (3/28) in Darlington | 1.192 miles (2026) |
| Holy Family Catholic Primary School | School remains Good | Top 15% (4/28) in Darlington | — |
| Mowden Junior School | Ofsted report card | Top 15% (4/28) in Darlington | — |
| Abbey Junior School | School remains Good | Top 22% (6/28) in Darlington | — |
| Mount Pleasant Primary School | Good | Top 25% (7/28) in Darlington | 0.811 miles (2026) |
| Gurney Pease Academy | Ofsted report card | Top 33% (9/28) in Darlington | — |
| Corporation Road Community Primary School | Good | Top 36% (10/28) in Darlington | 0.182 miles (2024) |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School | Good | Top 40% (11/28) in Darlington | — |
| St John's Church of England Academy | Outstanding | Top 43% (12/28) in Darlington | 0.397 miles (2026) |
| Heathfield Primary School | Good | Top 50% (14/28) in Darlington | 1.216 miles (2026) |
| Whinfield Primary School | School remains Good | (15/28) in Darlington | — |
| West Park Academy | School remains Good | (16/28) in Darlington | 2.201 miles (2024) |
| Gainford Church of England Primary School and Preschool | — | Top 40% (77/193) in County Durham | — |
| St Bede's Catholic Primary School | Good | (17/28) in Darlington | 3.237 miles (2026) |
| Firthmoor Primary School | Ofsted report card | (18/28) in Darlington | — |
| High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School | Good | (19/28) in Darlington | — |
| Reid Street Primary School | School remains Good | (21/28) in Darlington | — |
| Northwood Primary School | School remains Good | (23/28) in Darlington | — |
| Harrowgate Hill Primary School | Ofsted report card | (24/28) in Darlington | — |
| The Rydal Academy | Good | (25/28) in Darlington | — |
| St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School | Good | (26/28) in Darlington | 2.927 miles (2026) |
| Skerne Park Academy | Requires improvement | (27/28) in Darlington | — |
| Red Hall Primary School | Good | (28/28) in Darlington | — |
| Abbey Infants' School | Good | — | 2.88 miles (2025) |
| Mowden Infant School | School remains Good | — | 1.122 miles (2026) |
State secondary schools (9)
| School | Inspection | League rank | Last place offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carmel College | Outstanding | 1st (1/8) in Darlington | — |
| Hummersknott Academy | Ofsted report card | Top 25% (2/8) in Darlington | 3.109 miles (2026) |
| Staindrop Academy | Good | Top 50% (15/30) in County Durham | — |
| Polam Hall School | Ofsted report card | Top 38% (3/8) in Darlington | — |
| Hurworth School | Good | Top 50% (4/8) in Darlington | 4.3 miles (2023) |
| Haughton Academy | Ofsted report card | (5/8) in Darlington | 1.96 miles (2023) |
| St Aidan's Church of England Academy | Good | (6/8) in Darlington | — |
| Wyvern Academy | Good | (7/8) in Darlington | — |
| Longfield Academy | Good | (8/8) in Darlington | — |
Sixth forms and colleges (2)
| School | Inspection | League rank | Last place offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College | Outstanding | 1st (1/2) in Darlington | — |
| Darlington College | Good | — | — |
Homes and prices
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SourceHM Land Registry Price Paid Data, standard sales inside the ONS built-up area outline of Darlington, September 2025 to August 2026.
How it is worked outThe middle sale of each type: half sold for more, half for less (197 detached, 495 semi-detached, 331 terraced, 84 flat or maisonette sales).
LicenceContains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Getting around
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SourceStops and stations: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes).
Broadband: Ofcom Connected Nations, July 2025, fixed broadband coverage by postcode.
How it is worked outRail stations within 2 km and bus stops within 1 km of the town centre; straight-line distances.
Broadband is an average across the 2,835 postcodes in DL3, DL1, DL2.
- Broadband is an average of postcodes, not of homes: check the postcode you are looking at, it can differ street by street.
Gigabit broadband can be ordered at 87% of premises, and superfast (30 Mbit/s) at 93%. Average of postcodes, not of homes.
Safety and environment
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SourceCrime: data.police.uk, street-level crime inside the ONS built-up area outline; people from Census 2021.
Flood: Environment Agency, Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea), read from its open download. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. Open Government Licence v3.0..
Air: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps.
How it is worked outCrime is street-level crime inside the town's outline over September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 people (Census 2021).
Flood: at the town centre the area is in flood zone 1 for rivers and the sea on the Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning (not in zone 2 or 3, the lowest of the three).
Air: an annual mean on DEFRA's 1 km map at the town centre.
- A town centre with shops and pubs records more crime per resident than a suburb.
- Flood: surface-water risk is unknown here, we don't hold that map. One point says little about a whole town, and the zones describe the area, not a building: check the address on the Environment Agency's long-term flood risk service.
- Air: a background figure, not the air beside a busy road.
- These are for the town centre; an address can differ.
Childcare
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SourceOfsted, Childcare providers and inspections (the early years register): the number of nurseries and what Ofsted found.
Fees: each nursery's own fees page, read by 16 October 2026.
Coram Family and Childcare, Childcare Survey 2026: average nursery price for 50 hours a week after the working-parent entitlement (paying for 20 hours), by region
How it is worked outThe day rate range counts only nurseries that publish a day rate; the middle is the median of those.
- A nursery that does not publish its fees has none held here, so its price is unknown.
Key dates, Darlington
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SourceEach council's own published admissions dates, held on the dates page.
How it is worked outThe next dates ahead for Reception and Year 7 applications: applications opening and closing, offer day, and the reply deadline.
- A date marked (about) or (earliest) is worked out from the offer day under the national rules; the council has not announced it.
Nearby towns
Keep Darlington in your plan beside the other towns you are weighing up, and see each school here worked out for your address and your children.Add Darlington to your plan
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources and methods: tap the (i) on each section. How we know · All sources.