By Rebecca Parkinson, for Echo Memories
FOUNDED in 1848, Darlington’s Polam Hall School was originally a finishing school for girls, run by Quakers, who believed that it was important to realise every girl’s potential.
It was established in Houndgate, in what is now the Townhouse hotel and restaurant, although it switched to its current building in Grange Road a year or so later.
The main school building used to be home to Jonathan Backhouse, who ran his bank on the centre of High Row – it is now a branch of Barclays.
His former home now contains a small museum which pays tribute to Polam’s headmistresses over the years.
July 1994: Jadie Kell, of Saltburn, during a summer school hosted by The Royal Academy at Polam Hall School
Today, the school teaches both boys and girls aged from four to 19 years of age. As well as its academic success, the school has had lots of success with its teams over the years – some of the pictures in The Northern Echo archive show students winning competitions in public speaking in 1987, and a junior school choir going on a tour singing in France in 1994. The pictures from that year also show that Polam hosted a summer school from the Royal Academy of Dancing.
In 2015, Polam Hall changed from an independent fee paying school to a free school.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel