Polam Hall School

School overview

Polam Hall School is an all-through school serving Darlington, classified by the DfE as a free school. It has 841 pupils aged 4 to 16 on roll. Ofsted rated the school 'Good' in November 2025. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 59% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — broadly in line with the national average of 61%. That is down 4.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. At GCSE, the school's average Attainment 8 score was 44.6, broadly in line with the national average of 46. On our composite score, Polam Hall School ranks in the lower half of primary schools nationally for its primary (KS2) results. For its secondary (KS4) results, it ranks in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 105 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 6% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). At Key Stage 4, 38% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 93% of the families who made Polam Hall School their first choice were offered a Reception place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. Overall pupil absence was 8.7%. There are about 19.6 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.