Photo: peter robinson · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households in detached houses than 99% of UK towns: 87%
A household here has 2.6 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. At the 2021 Census School Aycliffe was home to 1,590 people in 620 households. On the census count, three in five adults are married or in a civil partnership. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 92% of UK towns.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 10% in School Aycliffe, more than in 62% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 45–49 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 65 and over at 20% in School Aycliffe. The median age in the village is 45.2, higher than in 55% of UK towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
School Aycliffe ranks above 84% of UK towns on full-time students: 6%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Where 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, School Aycliffe has 10%. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Below 99% of UK towns: 15% of households are one person living alone
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against County Durham’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; School Aycliffe has 1.8%. Typically, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
A smaller share of households in flats than 99% of UK towns: 0.6%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van; in School Aycliffe, 5%. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses: 1.9% of the total.
Above 90% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 78% of UK towns.
63% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 98% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 96% of School Aycliffe · County Durham’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion trails 91% of UK towns: 31%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. For School Aycliffe, the census puts residents who describe themselves as White British at 96%.
Fewer adults who have never married than 88% of UK towns: 26%
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
One in ten residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Set beside that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Among adults, 41% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 41% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 8.6% hold no qualification (18%).
2 of the 7 nearest towns are older than School Aycliffe
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School Aycliffe | 1,590 | — | 45.2 | 20% | 34% |
| Heighington | 1,548 | 1.2 mi | 50 | 28% | 26% |
| Newton Aycliffe | 25,760 | 1.5 mi | 44 | 21% | 27% |
| Shildon | 9,650 | 2.2 mi | 42.9 | 20% | 24% |
| Coundon and Leeholme | 2,522 | 4 mi | 41.1 | 20% | 27% |
| Chilton | 4,693 | 4.1 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Bishop Auckland | 23,359 | 4.4 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 27% |
| West Auckland | 3,107 | 5.1 mi | 45.9 | 23% | 27% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “County Durham’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in County Durham (or England), summed the same way as School Aycliffe’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about School Aycliffe’s residents
What is the population of School Aycliffe?
The 2021 Census counted 1,590 people in School Aycliffe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in School Aycliffe?
The median age was 45.2 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is School Aycliffe?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across County Durham’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in School Aycliffe?
31% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.7% didn’t answer.
Is School Aycliffe good for families?
34% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on School Aycliffe’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.