Academy sponsor led

Longfield Academy

Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formDarlington, North East · Darlington DL3 0HTTrust: Northern Arch Learning Partnership
Pupils on roll
660of 900 places
Free school meals
38.8%
Year 11 cohort 2025
149
Ofsted
Inspected, 15 October 2024Read the Ofsted report

Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Longfield Academy of Sport (URN 137222, until 28 February 2018).

What the data says

Longfield Academy has no sixth form. Of the 155 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 31% moved to a sixth form college, 48% to a further education college and 6% started an apprenticeship.

Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 31% of leavers went to one, roughly twice the England rate of 13%.

Spanish is unusually popular at GCSE: 38% of the year group took it, against 19% of pupils across England.

GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 42.8 against 46.1 across England and 44.3 in Darlington, with 44% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Darlington and England.

Longfield Academy
Darlington
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureLongfield AcademyDarlingtonEngland
Pupils in the cohort1551,148607,348
Any sustained destination94%93%92%
Stayed in education84%87%86%
— school sixth form3%12%34%
— sixth form college31%31%13%
— further education college48%42%37%
— other education2%2%2%
Apprenticeship6%4%3%
Employment4%3%3%
No sustained destination5%6%6%
Destination unknown1%1%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureLongfield AcademyDarlingtonEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)42.844.346.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths44%46%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths60%65%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects24%36%41%
EBacc average point score3.573.834.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort24%28%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils32.431.334.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils46.249.450.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language9%9%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Language149100%89%16%20%67%
Mathematics149100%88%13%22%63%
English Literature149100%86%14%21%72%
Combined Science12886%65%2%9%34%
Geography8054%41%14%25%49%
Spanish5638%19%18%27%82%
History3926%41%18%26%51%
Design and Technology2819%11%21%23%46%
Biology2114%23%10%45%100%
Chemistry2114%23%5%47%100%
Physics2114%23%10%46%95%
Graphic Communication2013%1%20%23%65%
Photography1913%6%32%19%95%
Religious Studies1812%31%17%32%78%
Art and Design1711%7%24%24%88%
Computer Science117%13%9%30%36%
Bengali11%0%35%
Polish11%1%84%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Hospitality / Catering Studies55
Engineering Studies42
Sports Studies40
Small Business Management34
Health Studies32
Music performance: Group20
Computer Appreciation / Introduction12

Other secondary schools in Darlington

Carmel College

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,367 pupils

90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.5

Haughton Academy

Academy converter · 854 pupils

85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.0

Hurworth School

Academy converter · 621 pupils

84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.1

Polam Hall School

Free schools · 842 pupils

85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.6

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.