Number of pupils: 470
Number of boarders: 85
Of which international pupils: 50
Av. class size: senior school - 15 / 6th Form - 12
Closest international airport: Newcastle Airport, 30mins by car
Fees per term for 2023/2024: £14,316
GCSE, A-level and Cambridge Pre-U in Design and Technology (equivalent to one A-level) and Level 3 BTEC National Diploma in Economics (equivalent to two A-levels) are offered.
Although Durham is not rigorously selective, its A-level exam results are very good and the school is among the top 3 percent in the UK when it comes to the personal academic development of its students.
In the school year 2023, 60 percent of the students graduated with A* to B at A level. At GCSE, 37 percent were between 9 and 7.
Durham School was founded more than 600 years ago as Durham Grammar School by Thomas Langley in 1414. It has been sited at its current location since 1844 and in 1982 it was changed from a boys' school to a mixed one. The boarding school students live together with the house parents in three houses, each of which is assigned a tutor. Poole and School are the boys' houses. The girls live in Pimlico.
All the houses are equipped with good WiFi, a kitchen, common areas and study rooms. The students share a room between two. Even after school and on weekends, students have access to the school's facilities, such as the swimming pool, rehearsal rooms and the sports centre. In addition, the school provides a varied weekend programme with barbecues, film nights and trips to Durham.
The school does not have exeat weekends.
Durham School is not only one of the oldest schools in the UK, but also ranks among the top 9 percent in terms of academic development.
Rowing, pentathlon and rugby are at the top level here and students who aspire towards an acting career are also well accommodated. But there are also other high-quality sports: in addition to traditional sports such as cricket, hockey and netball, they also offer water polo, skiing, squash, boxing, athletics, badminton, basketball, cross-country skiing, fencing, rounders, tennis, swimming and windsurfing.
As for the arts, Durham is known at home and abroad for its theatre and music departments. The school has a large choir which regularly performs at the iconic Durham Cathedral. Every student can get individual lessons in all musicgenres and the most common instruments. Durham is one of the few All-Steinway schools and it offers a fully equipped music technology room, large rehearsal rooms, nine music classrooms and a three-manual Harrison & Harrison organ in the school chapel.
Although Durham is beautiful, it is quite far away despite its good transport links.