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Staindrop Academy

Academy sponsor led in Darlington, DL2 3JU, taking ages 11 to 16, 504 on roll.

Good Ofsted, Nov 2021
10.96 mi Admitted from, latest published year
75% Full
45.6 Attainment 8, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 10.96 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.

The circle is 10.96 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.

This is not a catchment area. 10.96 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Staindrop Academy is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.

Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.

Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside it; each opens the district's guide.

The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.

Source: County Durham, published admission distances

Two schools, both in reach

Two children, or a first and second preference? Add a second school to see where both are in reach, cheapest districts first. Only a school with a published distance can be added.

If the answer is no, you can appeal. In County Durham, 45 of 166 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (27.1%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.

The distance as a picture

Staindrop Academy catchment area map: the 10.96 mile admission distance and the postcode districts inside it
Drawn to scale from the published figure, with the districts whose centre falls inside. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 504 pupils in 675 places (75% full)
TrustADVANCE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
Local authorityCounty Durham

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Good, inspected 17 November 2021
Attainment 8 45.6 (2024/25)
YearProgress 8
2024/25 not published
2023/24 -0.16
2022/23 -0.37

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Staindrop Academy

Girls and boys51.6% girls, 48.4% boys
English as an additional language0.8% of pupils
Free school meals30.8% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Where Staindrop Academy's Year 11 went next

Stayed for the sixth form1.6%
Sixth-form college37.7%
Further education college27.9%
Apprenticeship18.0%
Employment4.9%
No sustained destination recorded6.6%

DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.

What it costs to live within reach of Staindrop Academy

Cheapest district inside the 10.96 miles: DL4, median £63,500. Dearest: DL12, £252,500.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
DL4 County Durham 7.6 mi £63,500 123 sales
DL98 Darlington 10.7 mi £91,000 65 sales
DL5 County Durham 9.7 mi £92,500 85 sales
DL15 County Durham 9.8 mi £94,500 69 sales
DL14 County Durham 7.0 mi £125,000 140 sales
DL3 Darlington 10.1 mi £142,500 144 sales
DL2 Darlington 9.3 mi £250,000 92 sales
DL12 County Durham 6.9 mi £252,500 14 sales
How to read this

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 10.96 miles the school admitted from in the latest published year, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.

Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide

Getting to Staindrop Academy by bus

Best-served stop: Cleatlam Lane End, 97 yd away, with 2.2 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 07:00, last 21:38.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Cleatlam Lane End97 yd2.20.50.4X75, 85, 70, 84, 6
Cleatlam Lane End159 yd2.20.50.4X75, 85, 70, 84, 6
Masonic Hall0.2 mi2.20.50.4X75, 85, 70, 84, 6

These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.

Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing Staindrop Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around DL2: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at DL2 3JU, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for Staindrop Academy?

Staindrop Academy does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in the latest published year lived 10.96 miles away, per County Durham.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Staindrop Academy?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 10.96 miles was enough in the latest published year. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.

Does buying a house near Staindrop Academy guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Every County Durham school's distance

All County Durham schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Put Staindrop Academy's figure on your own site

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Admission distance published by County Durham. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.