Polam Hall School

Darlington · DL1 5PA

General information All-through School · 4-16 years Who goes here 842 pupils, 31.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 10.7% on SEN support Behaviour 8.0% absence rate Staff 12.7% turnover Financials £7,321 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Polam Hall School

General Information

Address: Grange Road, Darlington, DL1 5PA – View on map
Phone: 01325463383
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Principal Kate Reid
Age range: 4-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 101 families put it first for 107 places – 9 for every 10 places. 97% of them were offered a place. 3 of the 107 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 11 · 2026 9
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 43 families put it first for 45 places – 10 for every 10 places. 93% of them were offered a place. 2 of the 45 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

842 pupils out of 882 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 263
% eligible for free school meals: 31.2%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (more mixed than the Darlington average)
English as an additional language: 15% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.7% a year (Darlington 15.5%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 6% moved to another school, 94% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Darlington: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 8 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 11 (1.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Darlington, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 8.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 23.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 10.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 26 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 21 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card November 2025

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 44.6
Compared with the area: in line with the Darlington average (45.1)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−2.3 points against an expected 46.9)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 63% (Darlington 66%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolDarlington averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Darlington average (45.1).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

4th of 8 all-through schools in Darlington for Attainment 8

#2Hurworth School49.1
#3Hummersknott Academy47.8
#4Polam Hall School44.6
#5Longfield Academy42.8
#6St Aidan's Church of England Academy40.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Carmel College53.5
#2Hurworth School49.1
#3Hummersknott Academy47.8
#4Polam Hall School44.6
#5Longfield Academy42.8
#6St Aidan's Church of England Academy40.0
#7Haughton Academy38.0
#8Wyvern Academy37.7

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 85.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
History
Geography
Art & Design
Food Technology
Business Studies
French Language
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Sports Studies
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Polish
Portuguese
Japanese Language
Turkish

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 59% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 6% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 3 percentage points below the Darlington average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 60% against an expected 64%)
3-year average (expected standard): 60%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 69% · Writing 71% · Maths 80% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 69%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 105
Based on: 49 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

Year 6 SATs: 20th of 28 junior and primary schools in the area

=18Firthmoor Primary School62%
=18High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School62%
#20Polam Hall School59%
=21Reid Street Primary School57%
=21St. George's Church of England Academy57%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1St Teresa's Catholic Primary School85%
#2Hurworth Primary School83%
#3Springfield Academy79%
=4Abbey Junior School77%
=4Holy Family Catholic Primary School77%
=4Mowden Junior School77%
#7Mount Pleasant Primary School76%
#8Bishopton Redmarshall CofE Primary School75%
#9Gurney Pease Academy73%
=10Corporation Road Community Primary School71%
=10St Augustine's Catholic Primary School71%
#12St John's Church of England Academy70%
#13Heighington Church of England Primary School69%
=14Heathfield Primary School68%
=14Whinfield Primary School68%
#16West Park Academy67%
#17St Bede's Catholic Primary School64%
=18Firthmoor Primary School62%
=18High Coniscliffe CofE Primary School62%
#20Polam Hall School59%
=21Reid Street Primary School57%
=21St. George's Church of England Academy57%
#23Northwood Primary School56%
#24Harrowgate Hill Primary School48%
#25The Rydal Academy46%
#26St Mary's Cockerton Church of England Primary School37%
#27Skerne Park Academy35%
#28Red Hall Primary School25%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,321 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

8th of 8 all-through schools in Darlington for spending per pupil

#6Carmel College£8,134
#7Hummersknott Academy£7,666
#8Polam Hall School£7,321

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Hurworth School£8,753
#2St Aidan's Church of England Academy£8,449
#3Longfield Academy£8,345
#4Wyvern Academy£8,330
#5Haughton Academy£8,135
#6Carmel College£8,134
#7Hummersknott Academy£7,666
#8Polam Hall School£7,321

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Darlington: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Year 6 SATs ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered