Our History

Durham School is one of the oldest schools in the country with a rich history of which we are very proud. It stretches back centuries, certainly to Cardinal Langley’s re-founding of Durham Cathedral in 1414, and some would claim even further to the monastic settlement on Lindisfarne which came to Durham 900 years ago.

It was originally situated on Palace Green, adjacent to the Cathedral, but moved to its present magnificent site on the other side of the River Wear in 1844. Here it enjoys a uniquely rural feel while still being only five minutes’ walk from the city centre.

Until 1985 Durham School was strictly "boys only" but in 1985 girls were introduced into the Sixth Form and in 1998 the School admitted its first junior girls and we were fully co-educational for the first time in our long history.

Another major change occurred in the final years of the last century. The School finally became more or less independent of the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral (who had provided the majority of School Governors for a very long time), although we still cherish our close ties with the Cathedral (and The Chorister School) and the Dean and Chapter still has a representative on our Governing Body.

Due to the rapidly rising number of girls in the School, September 2005 saw the introduction of a second girls’ House, MacLeod, named after Norman MacLeod, a much-loved former Housemaster and History teacher. As if in celebration of this development, pupil numbers in the School (11-18) passed the 400 mark for the first time ever.

September 2006 also marked a major milestone in the School’s history. We have always enjoyed close links with Bow School, our Preparatory School situated half a mile down the road from us but from September 2006 these links will be even closer. Bow School will henceforth be called Bow, Durham School and it too welcomes its first ever girls in September 2006. Bow’s Year 7 and Year 8 classes moved to the Senior School and Durham School became a fully co-educational independent day and boarding school (3-18).

See our link on the Wikipedia website.