Polam Hall School

State-Funded School

polam-hall-school-darlington-north-east

North EastRegion

DarlingtonLocal Authority

DarlingtonConstituency

DL1 5PAPostcode

3.8

Academic Performance

Previous Ofsted

About the School

Polam Hall School is a state-funded secondary for pupils aged 4–16, located in Darlington, North East.

Ofsted's most recent inspection is published as a report card rather than a single overall grade. It currently serves 842 pupils. Polam Hall School is part of Woodard Academies Trust.

Ofsted Report Card

Inspected 25 Nov 2025 · published 18 Jan 2026

Current inspection

Safeguarding standards

Met

Evaluation areas

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

Previous Ofsted Rating

Subject Areas (previous framework)

Leadership &management

Good

Quality ofeducation

Good

Personaldevelopment

Good

Behaviour &attitudes

Good

Early yearsprovision

Good

Academic Performance

Below average

Ranked against secondary schools in England · 2024-25

Attainment 8: 44.6
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 37.8%
EBacc average point score: 4.03

Ethnicity

White

82%

Asian

Black

Mixed

Chinese

<1%

Any other group

Unclassified

Pupils

842

Total Pupils

46%Boys

54%Girls

Pupil Characteristics

Free school meals

31%

England average

27%

First language not English

15%

England average

22%

Young carers

<1%

England average

0%25%50%75%100%

DfE school census, January 2026.

Key Information

Phase: Secondary
Age range: 4 – 16
Deprivation band: Deprived
Total pupils: 842
IDACI quintile: 4 (Less deprived)
MAT name: Woodard Academies Trust

Inspection history

2 graded inspections published by Ofsted. Ungraded and monitoring visits are not shown.

Report published					Overall
15 Nov 2021	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good
31 May 2018	Requires improvement	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Requires improvement

A grey dot means Ofsted did not report that judgement in the inspection of the day — the sub-judgements shown here were introduced with the 2019 framework.

Ofsted data as at 31 December 2024. A school may have been inspected since, or had an ungraded visit that does not change its grade — check Ofsted’s own record.