Duchy College, Harrogate
the beginning of a new era
The Governors and Senior Leadership Team are proud to announce Harrogate Ladies’ College and Highfield Prep School will operate under the new name of Duchy College, Harrogate from September 2026. At the same time, we will begin the phased and sensitive extension of our co-ed provision from prep school into senior school.
“This is a positive and proactive long-term strategy which will enable us to continue to uphold the ethos and values of the school; to expand the opportunities for pupils; and secure the future of our school for the next 130 years and beyond.”
Francine Holroyd, Chair of Governors
Proud of Our Heritage
Our wonderful and unique school community is now more than 130 years old. Having started life as a boys’ school, we soon became pioneers of girls’ education at a time when women struggled to access an education that would enable them to gain university places. Thankfully the world has changed since those days and women now represent over half of all university students in the UK. We are incredibly proud to have played our part in driving that change.
Like any forward thinking, innovative organisation, we have also continued to change and evolve in order to continue to meet the needs of our pupils and parents; opening for example our co-ed nursery in 1997 and our co-ed prep school 25 years ago.
The beginning of a new era: Duchy College, Harrogate
A Strong Ethos at Our Heart
Our ethos has also evolved and, today, we are focused on providing an individual experience and a tailored journey for pupils of all ages. We are proud to be a relatively small school where every individual pupil is known and supported, both academically and pastorally, to achieve their potential. We are an environment which enables pupils to be themselves, to be authentic and to be proud to say, “I Am Me”.
“Leaders have introduced and embedded the ‘I am me’ approach which celebrates inclusivity, encouraging pupils to believe in themselves.
ISI Inspection Report, 2024
We are totally committed to this principle which, we believe, is incredibly relevant in today’s world. We know it is the reason many parents choose us for their children, and it is also the reason the parents of many boys would also like to either join us in senior school or continue their journey with us at the end of Prep 6. Our ethos today is ultimately not only relevant to girls, but to all young people.
“When I stand in front of a class of pupils I see them all as individuals. They are all different, defined by their own unique personalities, not by their gender.”
Joanna Fox, Principal
With our ethos firmly in mind, and whilst being mindful of the current challenging climate for all independent schools, the Senior Leadership Team and Governors have decided this is the right time to begin the phased transition to a co-ed senior school provision from September 2026.
Timeline for the Future
Our move to a fully co-ed school will be a gradual process, handled sensitively over a number of years to minimise changes for current pupils and to ensure our co-ed provision is of the highest quality.
We will begin therefore by offering a co-ed provision in Year 7 in September 2026. This will then gradually move through the school with this intake of pupils so, in September 2027, we will be co-ed in Year 7 and Year 8 and so on moving forward each year.
We know from feedback, however, some current pupils would prefer a co-ed Sixth Form setting. For this reason, we also plan to offer a co-ed provision in Year 12 from September 2026. All other current College year groups will continue to be taught in single sex year groups as they move through school, up until Sixth Form. Visit the Sixth Form section of our website to find out more.
The beginning of a new era: Duchy College, Harrogate
A New Name for a New Era
We love our name, but we know Harrogate Ladies’ College would be an unusual name for a co-ed school! We will, therefore, be known as Duchy College from September 2026. Our new name recognises our location within The Duchy area of Harrogate and the heritage of our beautiful school buildings which are leased to us by the King’s Duchy of Lancaster.
As a through-school for all pupils from 2-18 years, it also seems more appropriate to have one name that unites us all and represents the new era for our whole school community. We will, therefore, become Duchy College Pre-School, Duchy College Prep, Duchy College Seniors and Duchy College Sixth Form. The names Harrogate Ladies’ College and Highfield Prep School will of course always be part of our heritage; part of our tradition; and part of what leads us into our future, and we will never forget this.
Investing in the Future for Pupils
This next stage in the evolution of our whole school community will also enable us to provide new and exciting opportunities to pupils in all parts of our school community including:
- Expansion of the senior school current curriculum to include Design Technology (DT);
- Introduction of a new senior sports programme including football, cricket and basketball
- A brand new cross-curricular baccalaureate-type programme which will run from Year 5 to Year 8;
- A new integrated curriculum across prep and senior school with greater cross over of specialist teachers, use of specialist teaching spaces, aligned assessment cycles and joint KS2 and KS3 extra-curricular clubs;
- A through-school for all pupils from 2-18 years with priority progression to senior school;
- Investment in an enhanced “boutique” co-ed boarding environment including a new boarding gym and wellness garden (the only offering of its kind in Harrogate, providing flexi boarding to support for busy family lives, as well as full boarding);
- A brand new stand-alone dedicated Sixth Form Centre with new individual study spaces open for an extended school day to support A level studies.
We’re really looking forward to sharing more information about these developments with you over the coming months.
