Yarm School case studies (6)

Impact of partnership work done in 2025 (ISC annual Census 2026)

• 56 state schools involved
• 2001+ state school pupils involved
• 1075 staff hours given

Impact Statement

Yarm School coordinates and participates in a broad programme of partnership activities with local schools which exists right across the School at all ages. Thousands of children from local primary and secondary schools participate alongside Yarm School pupils in these varied activities and experiences which provide a range of opportunities for the mutual benefit of all the pupils involved.

In the Prep School, eleven separate and sustained partnership activities take place annually. Nine of these  involve between 100 and 700 pupils at a time, and between two and ten local primary schools. These include visits to School by children’s authors, chess competitions, science demonstrations and entertainment shows, an annual schools quiz, music days and concerts. The chess competition involves the Prep School holding 4 regional chess tournaments that attract over 100 children each time from schools all over the Teesside area.  In total there are approximately 1800 children from 18 different local state schools and nurseries taking part in our Prep School Outreach Programme.

The Senior School engages in a wide range of partnerships and activities that involve many local schools, and our wider community. These include regular careers events open to local schools and a biennial Career Convention with over 2000 guests, many from local secondary schools. Visits from authors and poets see hundreds of pupils from local schools attend, and various academic departments host open lectures by notable professional and academic leaders in their respective fields. Departmental links with neighbouring schools see the sharing of best practice in areas such as Gifted and Talented, teaching and learning and coursework provision, and regular collaboration on university preparation and mock interviews.

Our Music Department coordinates numerous events, such as singing workshops or an instrumental showcase, which see up to 600 pupils attend and participate in music, using our facilities. Our own pupils perform in varied local community events, including musicians and CCF cadets at the town’s annual Service of Remembrance. Our Parent Association, the YSA, organise a huge community Christmas Market with over 100 craft stalls, food stalls and entertainment for children. The School has one of the largest performing arts venues in the region, the Princess Alexandra Auditorium. We host a diverse range of musical, theatre and arts events which are open to the public, providing a cultural hub for our local community. A number of these events are offered free or at discounted prices to local schools and last year over 57,000 members of our local community attended events held in the PAA.

The Sports Department hosts a number of local, regional and national tournaments involving local schools, a coach development day for local rugby coaches and supports local community sports groups by allowing free use of our facilities for their training and matches in a number of sports such as rowing, hockey, netball and rugby. Our pupils are involved in a huge range of fundraising initiatives, collectively raising more than £25,000 in 2018-19. We run a number of community-based projects, such as a link with local homes for the elderly, and environmental projects including litter picks on the high street and on local beaches.

Our staff are involved in a wide range of activities that impact positively on our local community, and more widely. These include, but are not limited to, running or contributing to community projects (choirs, youth theatre companies, sports clubs and representative county programmes etc), acting as safeguarding leads for local organisations, being members of local schools’ Governing Boards, examining for national exam boards, supporting other schools with initiatives such as the Eco-School project, coordinating fundraising for local charities and more.