Carmel College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,367 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.5
Free schools
Polam Hall School
- Pupils on roll
- 842of 882 places
- Free school meals
- 31.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 90
- Ofsted
- Report card, 25 November 2025Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Expected standardAchievement Expected standardAttendance and behaviour Expected standardPersonal development and wellbeing Strong standardInclusion Expected standardLeadership and governance Expected standardPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Polam Hall School (URN 114329, until 31 August 2015).
What the data says
Polam Hall School has no sixth form. Of the 67 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 31% moved to a sixth form college, 48% to a further education college and 4% started an apprenticeship.
Food Preparation and Nutrition is unusually popular at GCSE: 33% of the year group took it, against 8% of pupils across England.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 31% of leavers went to one, roughly twice the England rate of 13%.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 44.6 against 46.1 across England and 44.3 in Darlington, with 38% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Darlington and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Polam Hall School | Darlington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 67 | 1,148 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 94% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 85% | 87% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 4% | 12% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 31% | 31% | 13% |
| — further education college | 48% | 42% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 4% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 3% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 1% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Polam Hall School | Darlington | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 44.6 | 44.3 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 46% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 33% | 36% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.03 | 3.83 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 23% | 28% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.8 | 31.3 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 49.2 | 49.4 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 16% | 9% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 89 | 99% | 89% | 13% | 20% | 56% |
| Mathematics | 89 | 99% | 88% | 17% | 22% | 67% |
| English Literature | 89 | 99% | 86% | 17% | 21% | 66% |
| Combined Science | 61 | 68% | 65% | 5% | 9% | 52% |
| History | 60 | 67% | 41% | 20% | 26% | 57% |
| Geography | 38 | 42% | 41% | 26% | 25% | 71% |
| Fine Art | 36 | 40% | 9% | 17% | 28% | 64% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 30 | 33% | 8% | 7% | 21% | 63% |
| Business Studies | 29 | 32% | 18% | 7% | 20% | 52% |
| French | 28 | 31% | 18% | 18% | 29% | 64% |
| Chemistry | 27 | 30% | 23% | 26% | 47% | 93% |
| Biology | 27 | 30% | 23% | 30% | 45% | 89% |
| Physics | 27 | 30% | 23% | 37% | 46% | 93% |
| Physical Education | 24 | 27% | 11% | 25% | 24% | 83% |
| Drama | 14 | 16% | 7% | 21% | 27% | 93% |
| Music | 8 | 9% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 75% |
| Polish | 3 | 3% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Japanese | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 13 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 10 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Darlington
Haughton Academy
Academy converter · 854 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.0
Hummersknott Academy
Academy converter · 1,215 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.8
Hurworth School
Academy converter · 621 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.1
Longfield Academy
Academy sponsor led · 660 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.8
St Aidan's Church of England Academy
Academy sponsor led · 587 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.0
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.