A LEADING North-East girls' school said yesterday that it will accept male students for the first time in its 150-year history.

Polam Hall, an independent fee-paying school in Darlington, said the decision to allow boys into its sixth form from September next year will help female pupils ease into university life.

Headteacher Marie Green said she believed Polam Hall, which has about 500 pupils aged two to 18, was the first girls' school in the region to accept boys on to its roll.

She said: "It is absolutely bucking the trend. Boys' schools quite often decide to let girls in, and we really do not see why a girls' school should not be returning the compliment.

"It is excellent preparation for the next stage of their lives, and we feel we have got something tremendous to offer here to boys."

The school already has a link with Hurworth House, a fee-paying school near Darlington, which teaches boys up to the age of 16.

A handful of boys from there study A-levels at Polam Hall, but remain Hurworth House pupils.

Now they will be added to Polam Hall's register, and boys from other schools will be encouraged to enrol, though none will be allowed to board.

Parents, pupils and teachers said they were delighted with the change.

Upper-sixth student Sara Wood, 17, from Aldbrough St John, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, said: "I am quite sporty and it will be good to come in after watching the rugby on the TV and be able to talk to somebody about it."

Lower-sixth student Sarah Leatherbarrow, 16, from Darlington, said: "It will not be a distraction and we will not be trying to impress boys. It is just something different and that will be good."

History teacher Trish Pemberton said: "I think they have got a lot to learn from each other. When they get to university, they will not in any way be at a disadvantage."

Guy Severs, 16, from Hurworth, is one of four boys studying A-levels at Polam Hall. He said: "The girls are not a distraction. We just carry on with our work."

Annie Bainbridge, the vice-chairwoman of Polam Hall's parents' association, said: "I think the experience of boys and girls working together at that age can only benefit the children's education."

Sheila Cooper, the general secretary of the Girls' Schools Association, said it was unusual for girls' schools to accept boys.

She said: "It is quite an interesting reversal of the way things have normally tended to happen.

"They want to remain a girls' school, but are giving a few boys the chance to benefit."