Senior (11-16)

Yarm Senior School aims to provide an environment where pupils can enjoy learning, experience a broad range of activities together and discover their full potential both in the classroom and beyond.

We quickly get to know pupils as individuals, encouraging their personal development through our supportive ethos, pastoral care and extensive extra-curricular programme. Pupils are mutually respectful of each other and are supported and encouraged by the highly qualified and dedicated teaching staff.

Transition into the First Year

The journey of ‘educating for life’ begins in First Year with a supportive transition programme to ensure that all pupils feel settled and able to cope with the move to the senior school and all that this entails.

Induction days before the start of term assist pupils in getting to know each other through a variety of taster sessions. Group challenges, having lunch together and spending time with tutors and teachers help all pupils feel ready and excited for their first day. The induction days are followed by the ‘Discovery day’ on the first Saturday of term where 1st Year pupils spend the day with teachers on the river, in the hills and doing team building tasks on site before being joined by their parents at the end for a big barbeque in the school grounds.

A well-structured pastoral programme is in place to ensure all pupils feel at home, respect each other and embrace all of the opportunities on offer to make the most of their time in school.

Senior School Life

Learning at Yarm School is about much more than achieving excellent grades in public exams. We recognise that these are only one measure of the educational experience and we regard the overall learning process as key to our philosophy of ‘educating for life’.

Academic success is important to us alongside nurturing each child to fulfil their potential. The school ethos, together with small class sizes, supports pupils’ personal development in all areas and results in significant academic progress. Our GCSE and A Level results speak for themselves and see us placed among the leading Independent Schools in the North East.

Pupils make effective and sustained progress throughout the senior school, supported by their teachers. We aim to offer inspiring courses to engage learners and make them feel excited about the curriculum and topics being taught. As a private school, we are able to tailor learning to the needs of each pupil.

Careers information and advice is shared throughout the senior school through the PSHEE programme, guest speakers, careers evenings, specialist talks and the use of computer programmes such as UnifFrog. In the Fifth Year external careers advice through Morrisby is offered to give additional advice leading up to A-level choices.

Sport, Music and other creative Arts play an important role in school life and PE/Games receive a more generous time allocation than in many schools. At Yarm School pupils are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests, which help foster life skills. Each pupil has two timetabled Activity Lessons a week where they can choose from over 50 activities, ranging from code and cypher club to cheer leading, medical society, netball and rowing.

Yarm School is highly unusual in employing its own outdoor education specialists who regularly lead adventurous activities including rock climbing, canoeing, mountain biking, hill walking and caving expeditions. At the heart of what we strive to create is a stimulating and happy learning environment where confident pupils have the skills and capacity to think and learn for themselves.

In the First, Second and Third Year summer outdoor education trips for year groups are offered and provide a real opportunity for pupils to learn alongside their friends and engage at an early stage with aspects of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. These and other school trips can be for a weekend in the UK or in countries further afield.

Links with Home

Home-school communication and partnership is vital, and we make frequent use of email and telephone contact, as well as via the Pupil Planner.

All pupils are given a planner and these are used to record and organise pupils’ work and are signed off regularly by Tutors and parents. Academic progress and pastoral care are key areas of focus for Form Tutors who play a vital role in supporting and encouraging pupils to make the most of their opportunities at all stages.

Formal assessments take place at intervals throughout the school year, with increasing frequency as GCSEs and A levels approach and we ensure that parents are involved through regular parents’ evenings, reports and interim reports.

Developing Talent at Senior School

Pupils at Yarm have the opportunity to really develop their talents whether it is on the sports field, on the river, in the great outdoors or on the stage. The superb facilities on site coupled with the commitment and time given by staff, and pupils allow this to happen. Many pupils play sporting fixtures for school and go on to develop this further at county, regional and national level. Regular concerts provide an opportunity for musicians to perform and enjoy being part of music making at the highest level and the annual House Drama competition, Year Group plays and the School Musical give a chance for many to showcase their acting abilities on stage.

We are proud of all of the achievements of Yarm School pupils, the lifelong learning that take place and the academic success of the school.

School should be engaging, fun and a positive environment in which pupils can work alongside others to achieve their full potential. It should ‘educate pupils for life’ and that is our aim.

If you would like to find out more please see our Open Events page.