Aims & Ethos

IGS: Durham aims to provide a first class education within the private sector at a price that many parents will find affordable.

We aim to cater for a wide range of children, from the most able to those who struggle to access the curriculum without support. We measure success not just by examination results but, for many children, by their increasing engagement with school life, their ability to overcome obstacles and their increased resilience and readiness for life beyond school; and by the joy and relief of parents who find a school where their child, despite problems and perhaps a difficult prior school experience, can grow and thrive.

Our most recent Ofsted inspection described our curriculum as "ambitious". We will continue to teach a curriculum that is knowledge-based and full of the kind of rich and exciting things that children love to learn about and which prepare them so well for whatever path they choose to pursue in life.

• We will ensure that all children are firmly rooted in the basics of Maths and English and we won’t be afraid to achieve that through repetition and consolidation.

• We aim to help children to become mature, respectful, thoughtful and caring young people who later in life will make a strong contribution to their communities.

• We aim to achieve all of this by continually focusing on our oft-repeated commitment: “stretch, enjoyment and academic rigour”.

• We aim to allow every child to find something at which he or she can excel – that may be in academic work, or in sport, or music or something quite different.

Our ethos will be based on respect, good manners and courtesy.

• We expect to be a diverse school community, with children from all backgrounds. It is our firm commitment and great pleasure to be able to encourage all to live happily together, to appreciate and value difference and, whilst being able to express their own opinions articulately, to listen attentively to others.

• We will adopt a broad, inclusive, informal Christian ethos – so, for example, most school days will begin with an act of worship (an assembly) which is predominantly Christian. But, we will welcome children from all faiths and will often explore together different opinions and worldviews – and will do so with mutual respect.

The Independent Grammar School: Durham

Reviewed: September 2026

Next Review: September 2028