Darwin Middle School is a government secondary school with a strong academic focus and clear pastoral approach.
NAPLAN modestly above national year-level averages; the result is a B- overall.
Darwin Middle School is a government secondary school with a strong academic focus and clear pastoral approach. Two separate campuses support younger and older students, with specialist facilities including a Study Centre and Careers Centre. The school runs a High Performance English stream for accelerated learners and an Intensive English program for language support. Student leadership and sport are embedded in school culture, and the school maintains specialist learning support through its Student Support Centre.
Darwin Middle School has an overall SchoolRank score of 52.7/100, rated "Average". This score is calculated from academic results, student growth, wellbeing, extracurricular programs, and value for money. Academically, the school scores 60/100, indicating moderate performance relative to other Australian schools. The school's ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) is 1065, well above the national average of 1,000.
In 2025 NAPLAN testing at Darwin Middle School, Year 7 students averaged 557 across the tested NAPLAN domains, above the national average of 540 for that year level, and Year 9 students averaged 590, above the national average of 569 for that year level. Relative to national year-level averages, the school's strongest domain is Writing. National averages are specific to each year level, because NAPLAN scores are scaled so older year levels score higher, a school-wide average can't be compared with a single national figure.
Darwin Middle School is a medium-sized government secondary school with approximately 663 students. It offers education for years 7-9. As a government school, enrolment is generally available to students living within the school's designated catchment zone. Families outside the zone may apply for out-of-area placement subject to availability.
Darwin Middle School is a government school, so there are no tuition fees. Families may be asked to contribute to voluntary school fees covering materials, excursions, and activities. The school has a value score of 63/100 on SchoolRank, which compares educational outcomes relative to cost, government schools typically score well on this measure.
Darwin Middle School has a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.5:1. This is above the national average of approximately 14:1, meaning class sizes are typical for Australian schools. Support staff make up 30% of the workforce, providing additional learning assistance and pastoral care. The student attendance rate is 87%, which is moderate.
Darwin Middle School is located in The Gardens, NT, classified as a outer regional school. With an ICSEA of 1065 (74th percentile), the school community's socio-educational advantage is around the national average. ICSEA measures the educational advantage of a school's community, not the school's quality, a lower ICSEA school with strong academic scores may indicate particularly effective teaching.