Durham High School closing?

[Wegovygirl]

Can anyone confirm? Rumour mill is doing the rounds that Durham High is closing. I have 2 children there and worried sick.

I'm not familiar with the school but you can check the Charity Commission website for the finances. Unfortunately, it looks like the school has lost a huge amount of money over the past few years due to losing pupils. It wouldn't be surprising if the school had to close. Sorry, OP.

I do believe that Durham HS has a real possibility of closing, given the demographics it serves and the existence of Durham School nearby or Royal Grammar School Newcastle further out.

It is really difficult to tell just on published accounts though, as there can be other factors as well - e.g. other independent schools nearby closing, how good the local state schools are and possible investment sources.

Not quite the same but we are considering Wisbech Grammar, close to us, and wondering if they could close/have heard rumours. Whilst they don’t have competitors in the same immediate area, there are lots of private schools in Cambridge and the Lincolnshire grammar schools (especially if they get easier to get into with decreased birth rates), depending on where people live in relation to the school.

RGS and Westfield merged due to financial pressures so yes it’s likely.

Personally there are other excellent schools in Durham, or as others said in NCL but it’s possible there’ll be some sort of alternative financing/ownership arrangement and it will keep going.

People who have money can send to RGS and Durham School which are better known, and many easily opt for Durham Johnston Comprehensive for its good reputation. So yes, I think Durham HS will struggle.

Threads like this can do real damage regardless of whether they're accurate or not - to staff morale, to current parents seeing it and panicking and to prospective families googling and finding it. For what it's worth, I believe Durham High had new investment a couple of years back and aren’t they now taking boys as well?? Which doesn't sound like a school in managed decline to me - sounds more like one 'repositioning for growth'. If you're genuinely worried as a parent then the right place to get an honest answer is the school itself - ask for a meeting with the Head or bursar, they have a duty to be straight with you. Speculating here based on old Charity Commission accounts (which are usually 18+ months out of date) just spreads a tonne of anxiety without giving anyone anything useful to act on.

The last post sounds like a member of staff

I am neither a member of staff nor a parent, but I know this school well. I agree totally that this sort of thread can do untold damage to a school.
Durham High School is an excellent school, academically and pastorally. Its results are outstanding, as are its sports offerings.
Not everyone wants Durham School, good though it is, which is extremely expensive and much more of a traditional public school. Equally, Durham Johnston is not what all parents want. It is large but has a very small catchment area. The Newcastle schools are excellent but not everyone wishes the transport hassle or wishes their DD’s social life to be based on Newcastle.
The many girls I have known from Durham High School have been happy, well-grounded and successful in many walks of life.

Even if not Durham School or RGS Newcastle, I would rather send to Durham Johnston which is free and has better academic results. Durham HS will go down the drain and its building used for student housing.

Goodness, you do have an axe to grind. Given its intake (the majority of the university children go there - or to St Leonard’s / Fram), of course it gets good results, but no better than Durham HS proportionally. Durham Johnston has a poor reputation in terms of pastoral care, particularly with those students who are not academically gifted.

Neither a staff member nor a parent at DHS, but I do have two in a nearby school. I know from experience the damage these threads can do though and from experience it's nearly always someone with a big stirring stick and a motive who writes them. If people are genuinely worried, speak to the school. It's not rocket science, is it?

not rocket science ? 🤣

pinktobbo is obviously really marked by this for some reason . Strange .

They have been taken over by galaxy global education who are in the process of closing another over of the schools that they took over (Malvern St James).

The two schools sadly seem to be going on similar trajectories. Malvern was another girls school that went co-ed under galaxy.

Recently (15/6) they advertised for a head of physics and head of geography on part time temporary contracts which is very similar to what Malvern was doing.

That sounds quite a worrying post for a public forum. I would contact the school directly and speak to themas I am sure if it was due to close etc there would need to be a process followed and communication between them and the parents etc. I don't work in education but from a legal perspective I am guessing they would have a procedure to follow for both the children at the school and all the staff at risk with their jobs too? Hope you get some answers soon.

Don't wish to be merchant of doom but Malvern announced their closure in April. Some other schools have announced closures even later.

Hopefully not for all those concerned then and the original posters children.

My daughter is also at DHS, and I think the answer is, sadly, yes.

• Michelle hasn't come back.
• Nick Grenfell-Marten resigned as a director of the company that owns the school on 12th June.
• Person of significant control and shareholder issued a cessation of their rights in December but it was only publicised a few days ago (at the very last minute by companies house rules).
• Malvern Education Limited - the company holding the other school that Galaxy bought and then shut down, is almost a mirror image of Durham Education Limited on companies house. The difference there is that they actually had the decency to tell parents that it was closing. I feel this one might be a 'that's it, seeya' or an attempt to claw in as many autumn term fees before pulling the plug by not telling anyone.
• I am aware of at least 16 current year 9s that are leaving at the end of the term because of this. My gut is telling me that this will quickly snowball.
• The school will also have a huge fee deficit from leavers that are not going into sixth form versus the number of upcoming Y7 joiners.

It's extremely sad but my advice to you, if you haven't done anything already, is have a plan B because that is likely to rapidly become your plan A.

its not looking good. Falling roll and coeducation hasn’t worked. The group that owns it have sold Malvern st James down the river so who’s to say they won’t do the same for the high school. It’s shocking what they are allowed to get away with. So much history in the school and all they care about is the land and how much it’s worth. Gutted

This is so sad but unfortunately this is the reality with groups who care more about land value than the education of our kids

I have no skin in the Durham schools at all, but know 2 kids who have gone to DJ 6th form and not flourishing at all, poor results. Although for a state it’s not bad. But it’s not all that.

The rumour is that Newcastle high school is taking over DHS. How are we meant to get are children there with the terrible traffic? Why won’t anyone tell us what is going on instead of making these arrangements in secret.

If that rumour comes to fruition I suspect that Newcastle High School would try to hoover up DHS pupils. Schools adjacent to Malvern did something similar.

NHSG isn’t taking over DHS but several DHS girls, including my daughter, are moving there in September as it looks inevitable DHS will close.

From Durham there is a school bus (it does take 90 mins tho!) or the train and metro (which, weirdly, is cheaper and takes about 40 minutes from Durham platform to school front gate including a 10 min walk from Jesmond metro station). The logistics are going to be a pain but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do and the trains are surprisingly quiet in the mornings.

Isn’t Durham Johnston usually oversubscribed?
It’s got a good reputation, but given its popularity it might be tricky getting in there as an in-year admission.

I'd be interested to know how they needed a new head of physics and head of geography in June. Staff have to give a full terms notice so they would know their staffing situation at Easter. I'm wondering if the staff are beginning to leave as well. Both jobs offered as temporary contracts which is hardly going to attract the highest calibre of staff (especially physics which is notoriously difficult to recruit).