The Rydal Academy

Darlington · DL1 4BH

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 584 pupils, 51.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 21.2% on SEN support Behaviour 7.8% absence rate Staff 11.9% turnover Financials £6,958 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Rydal Academy

General Information

Address: Rydal Road, Darlington, DL1 4BH – View on map
Phone: 01325380784
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr John Armitage
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 58 families put it first for 66 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 8 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

584 pupils out of 630 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 280
% eligible for free school meals: 51.6%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Darlington average)
English as an additional language: 12% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 11.9% a year (Darlington 12%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Darlington: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (0.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Darlington, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.5%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 21.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 46 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 38 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 26 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Hearing impairment: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 46% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 4% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 16 percentage points below the Darlington average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 39% against an expected 57%)
3-year average (expected standard): 39%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 62% · Writing 54% · Maths 60% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 71%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 101
Based on: 82 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolDarlington averageEngland↗ Improving Up 8 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 16 percentage points below the Darlington average (62%).

Year 6 SATs: 25th of 28 junior and primary schools in the area

#23Northwood Primary School56%
#24Harrowgate Hill Primary School48%
#25The Rydal Academy46%
#26St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School37%
#27Skerne Park Academy35%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1St Teresa's Catholic Primary School85%
#2Hurworth Primary School83%
#3Springfield Academy79%
=4Abbey Junior School77%
=4Holy Family Catholic Primary School77%
=4Mowden Junior School77%
#7Mount Pleasant Primary School76%
#8Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary School75%
#9Gurney Pease Academy73%
=10Corporation Road Community Primary School71%
=10St Augustine's Catholic Primary School71%
#12St John's Church of England Academy70%
#13Heighington Church of England Primary School69%
=14Heathfield Primary School68%
=14Whinfield Primary School68%
#16West Park Academy67%
#17St Bede's Catholic Primary School64%
=18Firthmoor Primary School62%
=18High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School62%
#20Polam Hall School59%
=21Reid Street Primary School57%
=21St. George's Church of England Academy57%
#23Northwood Primary School56%
#24Harrowgate Hill Primary School48%
#25The Rydal Academy46%
#26St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School37%
#27Skerne Park Academy35%
#28Red Hall Primary School25%

View full Ofsted inspection report

16th of 19 primary schools in Darlington for Ofsted rating

#14St Teresa's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#15St. George's Church of England AcademyGood
#16The Rydal AcademyGood
#17West Park AcademyGood
#18Whinfield Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1St John's Church of England AcademyOutstanding
#2Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary SchoolGood
#3Corporation Road Community Primary SchoolGood
#4Heathfield Primary SchoolGood
#5Heighington Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#6High Coniscliffe CofE Primary SchoolGood
#7Holy Family Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#8Hurworth Primary SchoolGood
#9Mount Pleasant Primary SchoolGood
#10Northwood Primary SchoolGood
#11Reid Street Primary SchoolGood
#12St Augustine's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#13St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#14St Teresa's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#15St. George's Church of England AcademyGood
#16The Rydal AcademyGood
#17West Park AcademyGood
#18Whinfield Primary SchoolGood
#19Skerne Park AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,958 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

11th of 25 primary schools in Darlington for spending per pupil

#9Harrowgate Hill Primary School£7,390
#10St John's Church of England Academy£6,966
#11The Rydal Academy£6,958
#12Heathfield Primary School£6,827
#13Corporation Road Community Primary School£6,777

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Red Hall Primary School£11,197
#2Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary School£9,597
#3Skerne Park Academy£9,429
#4Mount Pleasant Primary School£8,996
#5High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School£8,000
#6Firthmoor Primary School£7,746
#7Gurney Pease Academy£7,717
#8Hurworth Primary School£7,398
#9Harrowgate Hill Primary School£7,390
#10St John's Church of England Academy£6,966
#11The Rydal Academy£6,958
#12Heathfield Primary School£6,827
#13Corporation Road Community Primary School£6,777
#14St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School£6,623
#15Springfield Academy£6,581
#16Northwood Primary School£6,329
#17Heighington Church of England Primary School£6,304
#18St Teresa's Catholic Primary School£6,292
#19West Park Academy£6,096
#20St Augustine's Catholic Primary School£6,086
#21Whinfield Primary School£5,998
#22St Bede's Catholic Primary School£5,949
#23St. George's Church of England Academy£5,728
#24Holy Family Catholic Primary School£5,646
#25Reid Street Primary School£26

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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