All-through
Polam Hall School
Grange Road, Darlington, DL1 5PA
Key facts
- Phase
- All-through
- Type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 842 of 882 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 19.4
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Trust
- WOODARD ACADEMIES TRUST
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 42.0
- All staff (FTE)
- 66.3
- Pupils per adult
- 12.3
- Pupils
- 816
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected November 2025
- AchievementExpected standard
- Attendance and behaviourExpected standard
- Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
- Early yearsExpected standard
- InclusionExpected standard
- Leadership and governanceExpected standard
- Personal development and wellbeingStrong standard
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)Earlier inspections2
October 2021
Previous framework
Good
Safeguarding: met
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Early yearsGood
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Quality of educationGood
April 2018
Previous framework
Requires improvement
- Leadership and governanceRequires improvement
GCSE results
38%
44.6
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Average maths score | 105 |
| Average reading score | 104 |
| Reading, writing and maths | 59% |
| Working at a higher standard | 6% |
| Attainment 8 | 44.6 |
| EBacc average point score | 4.03 |
| Entered the EBacc | 33% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time4 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 58% |
| 23/24 | 63% |
| 24/25 | 59% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 50% |
| 22/23 | 33% |
| 23/24 | 35% |
| 24/25 | 38% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 105.0 |
| 23/24 | 106.0 |
| 24/25 | 104.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | +0.15 |
| 22/23 | -0.34 |
| 23/24 | -0.05 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 104.0 |
| 23/24 | 107.0 |
| 24/25 | 105.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 49.8 |
| 22/23 | 42.7 |
| 23/24 | 42.0 |
| 24/25 | 44.6 |
Grange Road, Darlington, DL1 5PA
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 15 January, the year before starting.
Darlington admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Headteacher
- Kate Reid
- Address
- Grange Road, Darlington, DL1 5PA
- Telephone
- 01325463383