Welcome

Welcome to Durham Sixth Form Centre. One of the most important decisions you will make is where you continue your education at post-16. We are delighted that you are considering joining Durham Sixth Form Centre. We are a diverse and vibrant community of over 1800 students, who have enrolled with us from over sixty different secondary schools from County Durham and further afield.

With over 30 A Levels and almost 20 vocational qualifications, we have one of the broadest curriculum offers in the area. Our courses are delivered and led by specialist staff, who have expertise in working with 16-19 year olds and, as our results testify, we have an excellent track record of academic success. In addition to our broad curriculum, we offer a wide range of extra opportunities in order to develop our students’ skills and talents.

The vast majority of our students progress to university, whilst others achieve places on highly sought-after school leaver programmes and higher-level apprenticeships, and others enter into employment. Our award-winning Progression Team continues to play an instrumental role in this success.

We would strongly encourage you to visit us at one of our Open Events throughout the year, so that you can discover, first-hand, why so many young people choose Durham Sixth Form Centre as their first-choice place of post-16 study.

We look forward to welcoming you to Durham Sixth Form Centre in the near future.

Our Values

High Quality, Inspirational Teaching and Learning

Excellent Support, Care and Guidance

Personal and Professional Integrity

Ambition and Progress for our Students

Our Aims

Ensure the students within our trust continue to achieve above the National Average and are able to successfully progress as a result of the high quality, inspirational teaching and learning which we value.

Establish our academy trust with an emphasis on wellness, resilience and challenge, developing the skills needed to thrive in a dynamic, innovative and ever changing educational landscape.

Lead and champion excellence in post-16 education through extensive and sustainable partnership networks.

Our History

Opened on the 3rd September 1913, the ‘School on the Sands’ was initially built to accommodate 248 girls. The building, now Durham Sixth Form Centre, was officially opened on 21st January 1914 by Dr Hensley Henson, the Bishop of Durham.

The school was designed by W. Rushworth and was built in the Neo-Georgian style costing £16,250. It was originally suggested that the school should be called the ‘Johnston School for Girls’ as a tribute to the illustrious benefactor of the original school, James Finlay Weir Johnston.

However, it was also felt that the part played by Durham County Council in establishing both schools should be reflected, so the name Durham Girls’ County School was granted. In 1969, the school became co-educational and, in 1984, predominantly a sixth form provider.

In 2023, we celebrated 110 years of education at Durham Sixth Form Centre, as the ‘School on The Sands’.

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