A NORTH-EAST school has opened its doors to its first non-paying pupils, after making the transition to a free school and sixth form.

Polam Hall School and Sixth Form, in Darlington, was an independent school until a few days ago, but has reinvented itself as a free school for the new term.

The school, in Grange Road, now offers free education to youngsters aged from four to 19

Although not the first free school to open in the North-East, Polam Hall is the first independent school in the country to convert in this way and still offer boarding.

Year 12 students have joined from schools around the region, including: Northallerton School and Sixth Form College, Durham High School, St Francis Xavier in Richmond and St Aidan's and Longfield in Darlington.

Tyler Wilson, who joins from St Aidan’s School in Darlington to study A-Level physics, chemistry, maths and further maths, said: "I want to be in a studious environment with smaller classes where I won’t get distracted." Mirren Worsdale, from Catterick Garrison, said she chose Polam Hall because she was looking to make a fresh start with new friends and different challenges.

She will study biology, psychology, history and English and hopes one day to train as a midwife.

Headteacher John Moreland said it was a very exciting time for the school with a new three-form entry at year 7 and the number of pupils rising from 445 last term to 620.

He said: "We are well on track to achieving our projected target of 880 pupils by 2020 and it is very gratifying to be able to extend our educational offering to so many."

New pupils will join the school as it celebrates outstanding exam results with an overall A Level pass rate of 96.8 per cent and GCSE results better than they have been for the last three years, with 85.1 per cent of pupils achieving grades at A* to C, compared with the national figure of 69 per cent.

Three of the school’s best-performing Year 11 students who gained 25 top GCSE grades between them have opted to remain at Polam Hall to study A-Levels.

Changes to accommodate the rising number of pupils include additional teaching staff, improved access from Grange Road and refurbishments to some of the school’s key buildings.

A new website – polamhall.com – has also been launched,

As a free school, Polam Hall will operate as a non-selective and non-profit state-funded institution, subject to the same admissions code and Ofsted inspections of any other state school but with the same freedom to run its own affairs as an academy.