Harrowgate Hill Primary School

Harrowgate Hill Primary School provides a nurturing environment where safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe. The school has prioritized early years education, resulting in children being well-prepared for Year 1. However, despite notable strengths in areas like phonics and the promotion of personal development, the overall academic achievement of pupils has not met expected standards over time. Leaders recognize improvements are needed, especially in writing and attendance, while recent changes aimed at supporting disadvantaged pupils show potential but require further embedding to be fully effective.

Strengths

• Strong focus on early years education with clear vision and ambitious curriculum.
• Effective phonics instruction leading to successful learning outcomes.
• Inclusive culture that addresses individual pupil needs effectively.
• Strong personal development opportunities fostering respect and responsibility among pupils.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils contribute to a nurturing environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' overall academic achievement has been below expected standards for some time.
• Inconsistent identification and addressing of gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Pupils' attendance has been below national averages, impacting learning.
• Variable effectiveness of teaching, with some lessons not addressing learning gaps swiftly.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Harrowgate Hill Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.1% of pupils at Harrowgate Hill Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Harrowgate Hill Primary School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.7% of pupils at Harrowgate Hill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Harrowgate Hill Primary School received £7,296 and spent £7,756 for each of its 402 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £224,000 (-£557 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Darlington · Darlington local authority: places and applications

What is Harrowgate Hill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harrowgate Hill Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was Harrowgate Hill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Harrowgate Hill Primary School was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does Harrowgate Hill Primary School have?

Harrowgate Hill Primary School has 407 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harrowgate Hill Primary School cover?

Harrowgate Hill Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Harrowgate Hill Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Harrowgate Hill Primary School?

Harrowgate Hill Primary School is at Thompson Street West, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 0HZ.