St Aidan's Church of England Academy

St Aidan's Church of England Academy
Location
Hundens Lane Darlington , County Durham , DL1 1LL England
Coordinates	54°31′33″N1°31′57″W / 54.52578°N 1.53254°W / 54.52578; -1.53254
Information
Type	Academy
Religious affiliation	Church of England
Department for Education URN	135314 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Chair	Merion Baker
Head Teacher	Nikki Gibb
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11to 16
Enrolment	550
Website	www.staidansacademy.co.uk

Former school logo

St Aidan's Church of England Academy is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, in Darlington, County Durham, England. There are 550 pupils enrolled at the Academy for 2023.

History

Originally Eastbourne Comprehensive School, ^[1] the school converted to academy status and was renamed Eastbourne Church of England Academy. The school was later renamed St Aidan's Church of England Academy.

Eastbourne Comprehensive had itself been created from the merger of Eastbourne Secondary Modern Boys' School and Eastbourne Secondary Modern Girls' School in 1968. ^[2] These schools had been in existence since 1936. ^[3] The boys' school was visited by Prince Philip. ^[4]

The new academy building was built on Hundens Park, to the north of the original school site.

Ofsted

In January 2020 the school was judged Good in all areas by Ofsted. ^[5] "This is a school of great warmth. It feels almost possible to reach out and touch the school’s caring ethos. The pupils are proud of the school."

There was an inspection in 2025 and Ofsted stated in all categories that the school was good. ^[6]

Notable former pupils

Eastbourne Comprehensive School

• Tom Sawyer, Baron Sawyer, trade unionist and Labour Party politician
• Vic Reeves, comedian
• Andrew Fothergill, cricketer

St Aidan's Church of England Academy

• Alex Pattison, footballer

References

1. "Eastbourne Comprehensive School". BBC. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
2. Tattum, D.P.; Herbert, G. (1993). Countering Bullying: Initiatives by Schools and Local Authorities. Trentham Books. p. 48. ISBN   978-0-948080-85-2 . Retrieved 3 October 2025.
3. "Save our old school". The Northern Echo. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
4. Hone, Christopher (10 April 2021). "Duke of Edinburgh Award braces for surge in applicants after 50 per cent spike in interest". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 October 2025. Prince Philip visits Eastbourne Secondary Modern School, Darlington, where students took photography as part of the Duke of Edinburgh's award scheme
5. Ofsted Communications Team (25 July 2022). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
6. [e-mail], Ofsted Communications Team (9 September 2022). "Find an inspection report and registered childcare". reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2025.

External links

• St Aidan's CofE Academy Website
• St Aidan's CE Academy Facebook Page
• St Aidan's CE Academy Instagram
• Darlington council plans