About The Prep School

Girls and Boys (Age 3-11)

Bow, Durham School is the Preparatory School for Durham School and caters for day girls and day boys from the age of 3 through to 11, when it is hoped that pupils will move on to the Senior School. Durham School now offers a continuous education for girls and boys from 3 to 18.

Bow is situated in its own beautiful grounds within convenient walking distance of the Senior School and the city centre and overlooks the World Heritage site of Durham Cathedral.

It consists of three departments – The Badger Nursery (3-4), The Pre-preparatory Department (4-7) and the Preparatory Department (7-11) - which work closely together to provide a high quality all-round education for girls and boys up to the age of 11. With before and after school care, it offers great flexibility for today’s busy families.

Bow was founded in 1885 as an independent day school for boys aged 3 to 13 and moved to its present site in 1888. In 1976 the school was incorporated into the Durham School Foundation and formally became the Preparatory School for Durham School. In September 2006 we welcomed girls for the first time and our Years 7 and 8 moved up to the senior school. Effectively, this completed Bow’s transition to becoming the Preparatory Department of Durham School and means that we now cater for girls and boys from 3 through to 11.

Bow has excellent specialist classrooms, including a well-equipped science laboratory and computer room.

The Preparatory School has sporting and cultural links with Scuola Media Leonardo da Vinci in Rome.

ISI Report 2011

Overall Main Finding

"Bow is a happy school in which pupils’ good academic standards and achievements in a range of activities are celebrated and contribute effectively to their good personal development. The sound management and leadership of the school ensure a suitable quality of education is provided and demonstrate an exciting vision for the future of the school. Good pastoral care and productive relationships between home and school result in very well-behaved, hard-working, polite and courteous pupils."
(Independent Schools’ Inspectorate 2011)

A full copy of this inspection report is available on request from the school office.

My son's trips away with the CCF have helped to teach him independence, discipline and confidence in being able to look after himself and others. The House competitions have involved my son in singing and helping out with drama productions, something he might never have done if he had not attended this school. We will all be very sad when the time comes for him to leave.

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Jane Rich, Parent