Hummersknott Academy

When there are more applications than places for 2027-28 (Year 7), places are offered in this order of priority. Meeting a higher criterion beats meeting a lower one.

1. 1Looked after and previously looked after children — Looked After, Previously Looked After and Internationally Adopted Previously Looked After Children. Looked After Children and children who were Previously Looked After but immediately after becoming Looked After became subject to Adoption, a Child Arrangement Order or Special Guardianship Order. Children who appear to Hummersknott Academy to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted (see explanation below).
2. 2Exceptional medical or psychological grounds — Medical Reasons. Children with very exceptional medical factors directly related to school placement. Applications under this criterion should be supported by written evidence from a professional health care practitioner (see explanation below). Medical reason If a parent states a preference for Hummersknott Academy and indicates their reason for doing so is ‘medical’’, then they will be required to send a supporting letter from a professional health care practitioner. The supporting evidence should set out the particular reasons why the Academy is the most suitable choice and why other schools could not provide the appropriate support for the child. The Trust may seek the opinion of a specialist where the information submitted from the health care practitioner does not contain enough information to determine how the condition can affect a child and their admission to school. In such cases permission will be sought from the child’s parents to do so.
3. 3Sibling link — Family Links. Children who have a sibling already attending the Academy and who are expected to be on roll at the Academy at the time of admission.
4. 4Children of staff — Children of Staff. Children of staff members who have worked at the Academy for at least two years at the time at which application for admissions is made.
5. 5Associated Areas — Associated Areas. Children living within the rural ward of Heighington and Coniscliffe within the Borough of Darlington and children living within the ward of Park East (Skerne Park and the Pastures estates) (see Appendix 1 Associated Area explanation).
6. 6Distance Students who live nearest the preferred Academy measured from the front door of… — Distance Students who live nearest the preferred Academy measured from the front door of the home address (including flats) to the main school gate by the shortest walking route judged to be safe (lit at regular intervals and paved/tarmacked). This will be based on the child’s permanent home address (to remain consistent Darlington Borough Council uses a Geographical Information System to measure all distances).

Read 2026-09-12 from the Advance Learning Partnership Multi Academy Trust's determined "School Admission Policy Darlington Schools 2027-28" (dated October 2025), which sets out a separate ranked order for each of the trust's two Darlington academies; these are the rules printed for Hummersknott Academy. Criterion 5 is an associated area rather than a distance rule. The trust's own numbering prints "(ii)" twice, for medical reasons and for family links, so the ranks below are the order in which the rules appear. A child whose education, health and care plan names the school is admitted first; that is not an oversubscription criterion. The policy's own PAN table states 2026/27 numbers, so no 2027-28 admission number is taken from it.

Published by the admission authority. Meeting a criterion never guarantees a place — it sets the order places are offered in. Full detail, other entry points and previous years are on the Admissions tab.