Gurney Pease Academy

Academy converter·Primary school Darlington·DL1 2NG
Composite score
55.6
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#5,288
National rank
#292
In North East
#13
In Darlington
Top 36%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
73%
% achieving higher RWM
7%
Reading average scaled score
105.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

New framework · Last inspection: 17/02/2026 · Read full report ↗

Achievement
Needs attention
Leadership and governance
Needs attention
Curriculum and teaching
Needs attention
Attendance and behaviour
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Expected standard
Inclusion
Expected standard
Safeguarding standards
Met
Early years
Expected standard

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
18 first choices, 20 places
First choices per place
0.90
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
42
any preference, for 20 places
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.10
00.511.5
1 per place
0.8820221.0020230.8920241.0020250.902026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Gurney Pease Academy first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
2–11
Pupils on roll
197
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
54.6%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
10.2%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
21.8%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
2.5%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
7.9%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
26.0%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
21.2
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£7,717
Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Location

About Gurney Pease Academy

Gurney Pease Academy is a primary school in Darlington, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 197 pupils aged 2 to 11 attend the school. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 73% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — above the national average of 61%. That marks an improvement of 33.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 36% of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 105 in reading and 104 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 7% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Gurney Pease Academy was not oversubscribed for September 2026: all 18 families who put it first were offered a place. Overall pupil absence was 7.9%. There are about 21.2 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 55% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. Gurney Pease Academy does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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