Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation
Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation is an independent school in for boys and girls aged 3 to 18. It has 661 pupils and room for 847.
Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation, Quarryheads Lane, Durham, DH1 4SZ0191 731 9270dcsf.org.ukDr Michael Alderson headteacherAll details
Inspection
This private school is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, not Ofsted. Its reports are at isi.net.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
76 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 76 | 80 | 86 | 49 | 78 | 55 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 31.6 | 33.0 | 34.8 | 46.2 | 49.3 | 51.3 | 44.2 | 46.8 |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 53% | 45% | 41% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 65% | 65% | 61% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.47 | 3.42 | 3.41 | 4.63 | 4.48 | 4.58 | 3.75 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 32% | 41% |
Subjects
Results came out for 15 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | 53 | 47% | 81% | 93% | 51% | – |
| Combined Science | 51 | 22% | 69% | 92% | 36% | – |
| Art and Design | 45 | 31% | 71% | 91% | 58% | – |
| French | 39 | 28% | 62% | 74% | 60% | – |
| Physical Education | 25 | 8% | 56% | 84% | 56% | – |
| Chemistry | 23 | 87% | 87% | 87% | 81% | – |
| Physics | 23 | 83% | 87% | 87% | 82% | – |
| Biology | 20 | 95% | 100% | 100% | 82% | – |
| Religious Studies | 20 | 35% | 85% | 90% | 60% | – |
| Computer Science | 16 | 50% | 69% | 88% | 56% | – |
| Drama | 14 | 36% | 86% | 93% | 60% | – |
| Other Modern Languages | 12 | 75% | 75% | 75% | 49% | – |
| Spanish | 9 | 56% | 89% | 100% | 54% | – |
| Music | 6 | 83% | 83% | 83% | 61% | – |
| German | 6 | 50% | 100% | 100% | 63% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
A level and sixth-form results, 2025
74 students finished sixth-form courses.
All sixth-form measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 74 | 59 | 61 | 56 | 155 | 160 |
| Average A level points per entryA level APS per entry | 35.94 | 38.43 | 36.74 | 41.46 | 38.25 | 36.06 |
| Average A level grade | B- | B | B- | B | B- | B- |
| Best three A levelsBest 3 A levels APS | 36.50 | 40.00 | 37.73 | 44.00 | 37.70 | 38.50 |
| AAB or better in subjects universities likeAAB+ in two facilitating subjects | 17% | 31% | 21% | 38% | 24% | 22% |
| A level progressA level value added | +0.16 | +0.07 | – | – | +0.39 | +0.19 |
| Applied general courses: points per entry | 24.57 | 25.00 | – | – | – | – |
A level subjects
18 A level subjects had results in 2025. Each figure is the share of students who got an A* to B, next to the average for state sixth forms in England. When only a handful of students take a subject, its figures jump around from year to year.
Strongest A levels
Every A level subject against England, 2025
A levels only. BTECs, T levels and other courses are in the table above. Subjects with fewer than five students aren't published.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to County Durham council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 661 | 740 | 760 | 736 | 684 | 523 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 19% | 19% | 17% | 26% | 22% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
What pupils do next
After sixth form
Where the 60 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 75% | 87% | 87% |
| Education | 57% | 73% | 73% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 7% | 4% |
| Work | 17% | 7% | 10% |
| Not in education, work or training | 3% | 4% | 5% |
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Margaret's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 300 m | 397 | Report card 2026 | 90 | Compare |
| St Oswald's Church of England Aided Primary and Nursery School | Church of England | 680 m | 137 | Good 2022 | 82 | Compare |
| University of Durham | Higher education institutions | 760 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Neville's Cross Primary School and Nursery | Council | 890 m | 277 | Good 2024 | 71 | Compare |
| Durham Sixth Form Centre | Academy 16-19 converter | 0.7 miles | 1,747 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Durham Johnston Comprehensive School | Council | 0.8 miles | 1,667 | No overall grade 2025 | 79 | Compare |
| St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham | Academy | 0.8 miles | 1,293 | No overall grade 2024 | 92 | Compare |
| Durham Trinity School & Sports College | Council | 1.3 miles | 254 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation yet.
How good are Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 31.6, against 46.8 for England.
How many pupils does Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation have?
661 pupils aged 3 to 18 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 847 places, so it is 78% full.
Does Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation have a sixth form?
Yes. The average A level grade in 2025 was B-. 18 A level subjects had results in 2025; the full list is in the results section.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation, Quarryheads Lane, Durham, DH1 4SZ
- Telephone
- 0191 731 9270
- Website
- www.dcsf.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Dr Michael Alderson
- Type of school
- Independent school (Other independent school, independent schools)
- Phase
- Independent school, ages 3-18, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Ward
- Neville's Cross
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 1908
- URN
- 114331 · LAESTAB 8406000 · UKPRN 10008205
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- A level subjects: DfE A level and other 16 to 18 results, subject entries and grades, 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.