Durham High School

Joining Yarm School is the beginning of a meaningful partnership with your family, and we ensure every child’s unique path begins with warmth, care and a true sense of belonging.

At Yarm, with year groups of a little over 100 pupils in the Senior School, we are large enough to offer an extraordinary breadth of opportunity and state-of-the-art facilities, yet small enough to ensure that every pupil is known, supported, and valued as an individual.

Yarm and Durham High School are both academically selective Day Schools which offer a broad range of extra curricular activities and share a similar ethos. At Yarm we summarise our mission as ‘Educating for Life’.

Our aim is to offer an all-round, holistic education, encouraging all pupils to make the most of their academic talents but also to develop skills, hobbies and interests which will prepare them for and stay with them into their adult lives. We want our pupils to leave Yarm School with soft skills, empathy, teamwork, leadership and confidence, and each year we watch with pride as our students fulfil these hopes and aspirations.

Yarm has a range of experiences on offer that means that everyone can find something that helps them develop these qualities. We have a wide range of extra-curricular activities, available at lunchtimes, after the school day, at weekends and during the holidays, and we pride ourselves on running a programme of Activity Lessons which take place twice a week within the timetable. All pupils in the School choose an activity to follow in each of the timetabled sessions held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

There are also clubs, societies and activities taking place at lunchtimes and after school. Sports, Music, Drama and Dance all offer an extensive array of opportunities – from fielding multiple Netball, Hockey and Rugby teams in each year group and competing at rowing Regattas right across the country, to pupils being able to perform on stage in the 750-seat Princess Alexandra Auditorium, write for the award-winning student magazine or compete at a variety of national competitions in debating, mathematics, science, language translation, computational thinking and more. Pupils find their passions at Yarm.

While spaces in certain year groups are limited, we are committed to doing our utmost to support Durham High School families at this challenging time. We understand the importance of finding the right path forward, and our team is here to help you navigate the transition smoothly.

We offer a sincere welcome to every family joining Yarm. We recognise that moving schools in this situation is extremely unsettling for the whole family and we are streamlining our processes so you have the reassurance you need.

From adjusting to the practicalities of a new timetable to ensuring your child feels confident from day one, we understand that changing schools is a journey. To help navigate the new start, and ensure the process is both reassuring and exciting, families and children are fully supported by our dedicated staff. Every new pupil will be guided by their Tutor, Associate Tutors attached to each year group, their Head of Year, and the wider pastoral team at Senior School, or their Form Teachers at Prep. Our pastoral team works in close collaboration to ensure that every new pupil feels welcome, secure and supported from their very first day, matching each child with a peer ‘buddy’ so they always have a friendly face by their side.

Life at Yarm is designed to bring people together. Through a rich tapestry of lessons, co-curricular activities, clubs, music, drama, sport and House events, pupils have the opportunity to engage with their peers and staff. These shared experiences and passions provide the perfect environment for lifelong friendships to be forged and formed.

We understand the worry that pupils in Year 10 and Year 12 must feel. We assure you that we will do everything we can to support a move that enables your child to complete their GCSEs or A levels at Yarm.

Where exam board specifications are the same, we will work with you to explore what has been covered so far on the course by your child and how that aligns with the delivery of the course at Yarm. Our Heads of Department and teachers will work hard to provide assistance and support for pupils in this position.

If the exam boards differ, we will work with families to understand the learning context for your child, enabling us to advise on the best way forward. Whilst in some contexts this may be a challenge for your child, a change of exam board is not insurmountable. With hard work and determination, as a school we can support your child to successful examination outcomes. Our Heads of Department and teachers will often have professional experience in delivering or examining a wide range of subject course specifications.

We announced our Durham Express coach service in September 2025 due to an increased demand from the Durham area.

The Durham Express stops at New Elvet, High Shincliffe and Bowburn. We have an extensive Coach Service that covers Castle Eden, Sedgefield, Wynyard, Darlington and many more areas: see our coach routes here.

We want to support as many DHS families as possible so we will review the coach stops based on demand.

Yarm has long standing financial security. Yarm has heavily invested in facilities, giving enhanced opportunities to pupils, such as the Princess Alexandra Auditorium where pupils perform regularly in front of audiences of 750 and the new Prep School building which houses classrooms, a well-resourced library and a spacious school hall. We have invested £17m over the last 5 years across the school sites.

This allows DHS families to plan ahead with confidence knowing Yarm can offer a stable school community where children are known and supported all the way to Sixth Form.

We want to support as many DHS families as possible. We would like to understand your needs and any financial assistance your child(ren) may currently receive, please get in touch with our finance team at fees@yarmschool.org.

We understand families need reassurance at this time and therefore we are adapting and streamlining our admissions process to make it as quick as possible to suit these unique circumstances.