School Aycliffe is a village located in County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated a short distance to the west of Newton Aycliffe

Newton Aycliffe

Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act of 1946, it is the oldest new town in the north of England.-Geography:...

 and to the east of Heighington, County Durham

Heighington, County Durham

Heighington is a village in the borough of Darlington and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated between Darlington and Shildon, near Newton Aycliffe. One of its most significant features is St Michael's Church that sits in the middle of an exceptionally fine and large village...

. The name derives from a Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 called Scula who owned land in this part of South Durham.

School Aycliffe is split into two by the road named School Aycliffe Lane. One side has the older, original estate. This is part of the County Durham unitary area, formally Borough of Sedgefield. The School Aycliffe Wetlands is a County Durham wildlife habitat site which is situated behind this estate. The other side is now a new housing estate named 'The Chestnuts', and part of Borough of Darlington

Darlington (borough)

Darlington is a local government district and borough in North East England. In 2008 it had a resident population of 100,500 It borders County Durham to the north and west, North Yorkshire to the south along the line of the River Tees, and Stockton-on-Tees to the east.-Council:Traditionally part of...

. The now closed Aycliffe Hospital, a mental health institute, was located here.