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.

The Senior School offers day and boarding education and caters for girls and boys from the age of 11 to 18. It enjoys a uniquely beautiful location within sight and sound of Durham Cathedral and five minutes’ walk away from the city centre and the river. It is easily reached by road, rail and air.

We offer top quality independent education with a considerable degree of flexibility. Day pupils can enjoy breakfast and supper at the School and many other benefits normally associated with a boarding school. Although the majority of our pupils are day pupils, we also offer weekly boarding, full boarding and part-time boarding.

There are currently 434 pupils in the Senior School, 120 of whom are girls and 80 of whom are boarders. There are 120 pupils in the Sixth Form.

Each pupil belongs to one of 5 Houses – Caffinites, MacLeod, Pimlico, Poole and School. These Houses have their own separate geographical location within the School with their own excellent facilities for work and leisure and are regarded as a “home from home” by our pupils. Our vertical House system, crucial to the excellent pastoral care we offer, provides a single-sex haven within the co-educational community.

Within the past few years numbers have grown considerably and there has been (and continues to be) a significant programme of investment in new staff and improved facilities.

Recent improvements at the Senior School include:

Durham School is committed to providing a first-class all-round education for all its girls and boys, regardless of background, gender, religion or culture, in a friendly and supportive community in which all our pupils are able to develop their talents (both academic and non-academic) to the full.

We believe that girls and boys who are encouraged to work hard, to play hard, to take advantage of all the School has to offer and to look after each other will be in a good position to face the next stage of their lives with quiet confidence.