Skerne Park Academy

About Skerne Park Academy

Skerne Park Academy is a state primary school in Darlington, serving children from age 2 to 11. It sits within a local authority that contains 29 primary schools, and its most recent ranking places it 26th among them, putting it in the bottom half locally. The top-performing peers in Darlington include St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, West Park Academy, and St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, all of which achieved significantly higher ranking scores. The school is led by headteacher Clair Gooding and has a mixed intake of 266 pupils against a capacity of 420, meaning there is room for growth. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 rated the school as Requires Improvement overall, though inspectors noted that behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision were all Good. Leadership and management, along with quality of education, were judged to require improvement. The school has a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 59.1 percent, well above the national average.

Academic outcomes at Skerne Park Academy are below the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, just 15 percent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined, compared with the Darlington average of 59 percent. In reading, 38 percent met the expected standard, with an average score of 95, and 8 percent reached the higher standard. In maths, 38 percent achieved the expected standard, with an average score of 96, and again 8 percent reached the higher standard. Writing was weaker, with only 19 percent meeting expectations and no pupils reaching the higher standard. The school ranks 26th out of 26 in Darlington on the combined measure, and nationally it sits in the bottom 1 percent. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary school is St John's Church of England Academy, 1.3 kilometres away.

The school offers a range of facilities including an ICT suite, sports hall, music rooms, a forest school, and a chapel. Sports on offer include football, gymnastics, dance, and cricket, while clubs extend to eco club, chess, choir, drama, film club, and coding. The school has a nursery provision, making it suitable for families with very young children, and it does not have a sixth form. Admissions for 2025/26 show the school was oversubscribed, with 46 applications for 31 places, and 30 first-preference offers made from 30 first-preference applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.48. The school has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairment, and physical disability. This range of support, combined with the forest school and varied clubs, may appeal to families looking for a community-focused primary with additional pastoral and enrichment opportunities, though academic outcomes are a clear area for improvement.

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