Mowden Infant School
Primary · Academy converter · Ages 5–7 · Darlington
Last distance offered · Reception 2026
1.122 miles
Published by Darlington Borough Council · offers on 16 April 2026
2023–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
Mowden Infant School is a primary school in Darlington for ages 5–7 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 18 January 2023. Darlington has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2023 to 2026 entry.
Mowden Infant School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2026 | 1.122 mi |
| Reception 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2024 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2023 | 🔒 With a pass |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- For Reception 2026, the last distance offered was 1.122 miles, the 3rd shortest of the 11 Darlington primary schools with a published last distance (middle figure 1.22 miles).
- The Reception last distance has swung sharply, most of all from 2023 to 2024; the 2026 figure was nearer than in 2024 and further than in 2023.
- Reception 2026 drew 73 first-choice applications for 59 offers; 58 offers went to first-choice families and 15 first-choice families (21%) were not offered a place.
- Free school meal eligibility is 8.9%, against a middle figure of 12.9% across the 8 nearest primary schools in Darlington.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Darlington schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Bushel Hill Drive, Darlington, DL3 9QG
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 5–7
- Council
- Darlington
- Pupils on roll
- 169 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 8.9% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 21.4
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 18 January 2023
Strengths
- “Pupils at Mowden Infant School enjoy school life and their learning.”
- “Pupils have positive behaviour in their lessons and towards each other.”
- “Their attitudes to school, supported by a caring staff team, bring to life the school ethos of ‘Learning in Partnership’.”
To improve
- “Occasionally, the learning activities planned do not always match the intentions of the curriculum.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 13 March 2023 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 73 first-preference applications, 59 offers in total, 58 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in Darlington.
- Mowden Junior School 0.1 mi No Ofsted grade
- St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School 0.4 mi Good Last distance published
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School 0.5 mi School remains Good
- Abbey Junior School 0.6 mi School remains Good
- Abbey Infants' School 0.7 mi Good Last distance published
- Mount Pleasant Primary School 0.8 mi Good Last distance published
- Reid Street Primary School 1.0 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- St Augustine's Catholic Primary School 1.2 mi Good Last distance published