Durham High School
Farewell Hall, South Road, DH1 3TB
This school is closed (it closed in July 2026).
- Phase
- Independent schools
- School type
- Other independent school
- Ages
- 3 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Anglican
- Headmistress
- Mrs Michelle Hill
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 730
- Pupils on roll
- 278
- URN
- 114330
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
About this school
Durham High School was an Anglican independent school in County Durham. It taught children aged 3 to 18 and had 278 pupils on roll.
Ofsted did not inspect it under the current framework.
Ofsted judgement
Durham High School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet. It opened in its current form in January 1912, and new or converted schools usually wait a few years for their first inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 39 | 47 | 27 |
| Attainment 8 score | 67.6 | 71.9 | 51.7 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 79% | 87.2% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 97.9% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 54% | 51.1% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.2 | 6.6 | 4.6 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Durham High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67.6 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 71.9 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.7 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 326 |
| 2023/24 | 311 |
| 2024/25 | 288 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 0%
- Pupils with an EHC plan
- 2
- Pupils on SEN support
- 64
Location
Nearby schools
-
University of Durham1.1 miles
Universities · Durham
-
Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation1.1 miles
Independent schools
-
Durham Trinity School & Sports College2.3 miles
Special schools · Durham
-
Strawberry Lane3.1 miles
Special schools · Bowburn
-
The Meadows Academy4.3 miles
Academies · Spennymoor
Recorded changes at this school
- Status changed from open to closed recorded 25 Jul 2026
Common questions
- What ages does Durham High School teach?
- Durham High School taught children aged 3 to 18. It was an independent school in County Durham.
- Has Durham High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected Durham High School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How many pupils are at Durham High School?
- Durham High School had 278 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 18.
- How have Durham High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 67.6 in 2022/23 and 51.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are Durham High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Durham High School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 25 July 2026.