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Schools similar to The Rydal Academy

Darlington · ages 2 to 11 · URN 138989

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Change sheet

The Rydal Academy · comparison saved 26 October 2026

Showing the closest 10 of 2,144 eligible schools.

Our intake matches, separate from DfE’s groups; not a school-quality ranking or an explanation of results. Method. Figures keep their own periods; small cohorts flagged where published counts are available.

KS2 is reading, writing and maths combined. Published cohort counts appear with results where available.

0 of 3 peers selected.

No peers selected. Add schools from the matches to include them on this sheet.

Selected school and shortlisted peers. Dates link to each figure’s source.
MeasureThe Rydal Academy
Pupils2025/26 · Academic year584SourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
Free school meals2025/26 · Academic year47.9%SourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
First language other than English2025/26 · Academic year11.6%SourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
SEND (SEN support or EHC plan)2025/26 · Academic year25.34%SourceDfE: Special educational needs in England · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england+ sourceDfE: Schools, pupils and their characteristics · 2025/26 · Academic year · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
KS2 expected standard2024/25 · Academic year · Final46%SourceDfE: Key stage 2 performance tables · 2024/25 · Academic year · Final · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-2-attainment
KS2 higher standard2024/25 · Academic year · Final4%SourceDfE: Key stage 2 performance tables · 2024/25 · Academic year · Final · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-2-attainment
Overall absence2025/26 · Autumn and spring term7.71%SourceDfE: Pupil absence in schools in England · 2025/26 · Autumn and spring term · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england
Persistent absence2025/26 · Autumn and spring term24.42%SourceDfE: Pupil absence in schools in England · 2025/26 · Autumn and spring term · https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england
KS2 cohort

KS2 cohort: 82 eligible pupils. 2024/25

Latest inspectionGraded inspection (previous framework)6 December 2022Ofsted · https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/25/138989
Graded inspection (previous framework)
Overall effectivenessGood
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour and attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership and managementGood
Safeguarding is effectiveYes
Early yearsGood

Questions and notes

What would be useful to discuss with each school about its context and practice?

The Rydal Academy

School website · Official school record

  • What would be useful to compare about provision given these pupil-intake similarities?
  • Which differences in context should we understand before adapting another school’s approach?

Saved comparison: https://headteacherchat.com/tools/similar-schools?urn=138989&edition=htc-full-primary-v1%3A2026-10-26&sheet=peers. Links can expire after 13 editions; keep this printed record.

Selected school evidence

All figures and Ofsted for The Rydal Academy

The Rydal Academy

Darlington · ages 2 to 11 · URN138989

KS2 cohort: 82 eligible pupils. DfE KS2 · 2024/25 · Academic year · Final · source 2026-05-21

The Rydal Academy: published figures and their sources
MeasureThe Rydal Academy
Pupils5842025/26
Free school meals47.9%2025/26
First language other than English11.6%2025/26
SEND (SEN support or EHC plan)25.34%2025/26+ source
KS2 expected standard46%2024/25 · Academic year · Final
KS2 higher standard4%2024/25 · Academic year · Final
Overall absence7.71%2025/26 · Autumn and spring term
Persistent absence24.42%2025/26 · Autumn and spring term
School websiteOfficial school record

How schools are matched

We compare open primary schools in England that teach through to age 11. We match current eligibility for free school meals first, then first language other than English, SEND and pupil numbers. The same age range is preferred. Region, faith and school type have a smaller influence.

Intake similarity alone cannot explain results; check reports and local circumstances.

View the matching calculation and data sources

SEND is calculated from pupils with SEN support or an EHC plan, divided by the school roll. We only calculate it when the source counts, year and coverage agree. It is rounded to two decimal places here.

Matching weights
MeasureWeight
Free school meals45%
First language other than English25%
SEND (SEN support or EHC plan)20%
Pupils10%

Lower scores mean closer pupil context; context bonuses can make scores negative. Matching scores are neither ratings nor percentages.

Open England GIAS Primary; statutory low age at most 5 (including nursery ages 2/3) and high age 11. All four inputs required in the same academic year. Prefer exact low/high ages when at least 10 candidates remain after the report-card filter; otherwise disclose relaxation. Outcomes never select or rank peers. Context bonuses require nonmissing exact region, religious character and establishment type code; missing context earns no bonus. Lower distance is closer, including negative totals after bonuses.

2144 schools were eligible; 10 are shown.

  • fsm: Absolute percentage-point difference / 100
  • eal: Absolute percentage-point difference / 100; First language other than English
  • send: Absolute percentage-point difference / 100
  • size: Absolute pupil-count difference / max(target pupils, candidate pupils)

SEND formula: 100 * (SEN_support + EHC_plan) / characteristics.pupils; same school, Academic year and year; SEN total_pupils must equal characteristics.pupils. Ties are resolved by URN ascending.

Schools can be excluded for more than one reason:

  • Not a primary school: 21888
  • Does not cover the full primary age range: 28649
  • Not open: 25401
  • England location unverified: 3043
  • The selected school: 1
  • FSM percentage missing: 192
  • First-language percentage missing: 192
  • Pupil number missing: 192
  • SEND: published SEN support, EHC plan or pupil total missing: 192
  • Different age range: 11952

Missing means no usable figure was provided. Suppressed means the publisher withheld it. Unavailable means no usable value can be shown; check the source and published code. Not applicable and low reliability retain the publisher’s stated limits.

Comparison reference: htc-full-primary-v1:2026-10-26.

Related guides

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.