Polam Hall School is a Free schools serving all-through age pupils, located in Darlington, County Durham. The school has 841 pupils enrolled. Ofsted: Good (graded inspection, 5 October 2021). Last inspected 25 November 2025. The Headteacher is Kate Reid. The school is administered by Darlington local authority. It belongs to WOODARD ACADEMIES TRUST. It opened in 1 September 2015.
Applications for places at Polam Hall School are handled by the school or the local authority (Darlington). See the school's website for admissions arrangements, or read the GOV.UK guide to school admissions.
GCSE Performance (Key Stage 4)
44.6
Attainment 8 · 2024-25
−0.05
Progress 8 · 2023-24
38%
Grade 5+ in English & maths · 2024-25
63%
Grade 4+ in English & maths · 2024-25
4.03
EBacc average point score · 2024-25
33%
Entering the EBacc · 2024-25
Attainment 8 is the school's average GCSE score across eight key subjects — higher is better.
Progress 8 shows how much progress pupils made between ages 11 and 16 compared with similar pupils nationally — 0 is average, positive is above average. Shown for 2023-24, the most recent year the Department for Education published it.
Grade 5+ / 4+ in English & maths is the share of pupils achieving at least a strong pass (5) or a standard pass (4) in both subjects.
EBacc covers the English Baccalaureate subject mix: English, maths, sciences, a language, and history or geography.
The expected standard means pupils reached the level the Department for Education expects in reading, writing and maths combined by the end of primary school.
The higher standard means pupils achieved a high score in reading and maths and were working at greater depth in writing.