St Augustine's Catholic Primary School

About St Augustine's Catholic Primary School

St Augustine's Catholic Primary School in Darlington is a standout performer when measured against the local authority average for Key Stage 2 outcomes. While the Darlington average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined sits at 59 per cent, St Augustine's achieves 83 per cent — a full 24 percentage points higher. This places the school first out of 26 primary schools in the borough, and within the top ten per cent nationally. The school is also oversubscribed by a considerable margin, with 106 applications for 30 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, and 35 first-preference applications for those same 30 spots. That level of demand suggests local families recognise the strong academic offering here. The school is a Roman Catholic state primary for mixed genders, aged 2 to 11, and is currently at full capacity with 210 pupils.

Exam results from the 2023/24 academic year reinforce the school's strong position. In reading, 93 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard and 45 per cent achieved a higher standard. In maths, 86 per cent met the expected level and 28 per cent reached the higher tier. Writing saw 86 per cent at expected and 34 per cent at higher. Average scaled scores were 109 in reading and 107 in maths. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection in July 2024 awarded a Good rating across all categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This marks a clear improvement from the previous inspection in January 2022, when the school was rated Requires Improvement overall, with quality of education and early years provision both graded as Requires Improvement.

Facilities include a chapel, library, ICT suite, gymnasium, playing fields and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include football, swimming, athletics, cross country, rounders and dance, while clubs cover drama, coding and art. The school has nursery provision and supports pupils with a range of special educational needs, including specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With a low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 7.1 per cent, the school serves a relatively advantaged intake. For families seeking a Catholic primary with strong academic outcomes and a clear trajectory of improvement, St Augustine's is a compelling choice — though securing a place will require a first-preference application given the high oversubscription ratio of 3.53 applicants per place.

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