Polam Hall School
All-through · Free schools · Mixed · Darlington
Grange Road, Darlington, DL1 5PA
60
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 05/10/2021
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
92.0%
23.3% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
842
Capacity used
Nearly full95%
882 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
38 of 38 families who put it first got an offer
41
Places offered
125
Total applications
3.0
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 38 | 38 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 29 | 2 | ● 7% |
| 3rd preference | 36 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Later preferences (4th–5th) | 22 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 125 | 40 | 32% |
1st preference success by year
Darlington lets families list 5 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (1 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- All-through
- Age range
- 4–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Kate Reid
- Address
- Grange Road, Darlington, DL1 5PA
- Phone
- 01325463383
- Local authority
- Darlington
- Ward / constituency
- Park West · Darlington
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 142174
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 31% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 13% | — | — |
| SEN support | 14% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: WOODARD ACADEMIES TRUST
842 pupils · 882 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
25 November 2025
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Expected standard Achievement Expected standard Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Attendance and behaviour Expected standard Leadership and governance Expected standard Early years Expected standard Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard Post-16 provision Not applicable - 21
05 October 2021
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessEarly years Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 829 pupils
Attendance
92.0%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.0%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
23.3%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.9%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
2.4%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
Primary results (Key Stage 2)
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 63% | — | — |
| Higher standard | 8% | — | — |
| Reading progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Writing progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Maths progress | — | — | 0.0 |
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 42.0 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.05 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 35% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 54% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.77 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
Primary results by subject (SATs)
Year 6 pupils meeting each standard, against England
Reading, writing & maths combined
Reading
Writing
Maths
Grammar, punctuation & spelling
Science
England average · Scaled scores run 80–120 (100 = expected standard).
Primary results over time
Expected standard (RWM) by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Expected standard (RWM) | 59% | 61% |
| Higher standard | 6% | 8% |
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 44.6 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 37.8% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 63.3% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 33.3% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.03 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 90 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 24 | 35 |
| Average grade | D+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 0% | 17% |
| A-level students | 26 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 89 | 17% | 45% | 67% | |
| English Language | 89 | 13% | 46% | 56% | |
| English Literature | 89 | 17% | 49% | 66% | |
| Combined Science | 61 | 5% | 38% | 52% | |
| History | 60 | 20% | 53% | 57% | |
| Geography | 38 | 26% | 55% | 71% | |
| Art and Design | 36 | 17% | 53% | 64% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 30 | 7% | 43% | 63% | |
| Business | 29 | 7% | 38% | 52% | |
| French | 28 | 18% | 50% | 64% | |
| Biology | 27 | 30% | 78% | 89% | |
| Physics | 27 | 37% | 89% | 93% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Darlington council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Reception (primary) | 15 January | 16 April (or next working day) |
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.