New proprietor announced for independent girls’ school

Durham High School, an independent day school for girls aged between three years and 18, will be operated by a newly created company, Durham Education Limited, part of the Ruthin Education Group.

The school, which was established 140 years ago in Durham City, was judged to be ‘Excellent’ in all areas in its latest inspection carried out by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) and achieved outstanding GCSE and A Level results this year.

The partnership has been made possible with investment from Ms Shangmei Gao, an educationalist and philanthropist who lives with her family in London and is a founder of the Jiangsu Huai’an Education Group in China. In 2023 she acquired Ruthin School, in North Wales, one of the oldest schools in the UK. Her daughters are both being educated in the UK.

Helen McMillan, chair of governors at Durham High School, said there would be no changes to the operation of the school and for students it would be ‘business as usual’.

She added: “The Governors believe, in the light of challenging times, this will secure the school’s future. Ms Gao’s philanthropic nature and vision for UK education has resulted in the successful establishment and expansion of Ruthin Education, and we’re delighted to be a part of that expansion.”

Michelle Hill, headmistress at the school, said: “It is an exciting move for us which will secure the future of our school so that girls can continue to be educated here for decades to come.”

Nick Grenfell-Marten, Chairman of the Management Board at the Ruthin Education Group, said: “All of us at Ruthin Education are delighted that Durham High School is joining our group. In recognising the excellence of the educational provision at the school, along with its great pastoral care, we recognised very early on that Durham High School would be a good fit for our group. We look forward to working with colleagues in the school over the next months and years.”