Harrogate Ladies' College (Duchy College from September 2026)

Harrogate Ladies' College is a family of leading independent schools providing an all-round, high quality academic education for boys and girls between the ages of 2 and 11 and for girls only between the ages of 11 and 18.

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.

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.

As we look forward our new co-ed era as Duchy College, Harrogate from September 2026, we are excited to deliver innovative opportunities for pupils across every age group; from Duchy College Pre-School to Duchy College Sixth Form.

Our investment in teaching, facilities and pupil experience includes:

A brand new stand-alone dedicated Sixth Form Centre with new individual study spaces. The centre will be fully open in September 2026 and is now available to tour.

Pupils of all age groups will have the opportunity to study Design Technology (DT) as part of our Expanded Senior School Curriculum. Our new DT department will be fully operational in September 2026 but is already complete and available to visit.

New Senior Sports Programme – offering football, cricket and basketball, to complement our current sports provision.

Our new Cross-Curricular Baccalaureate-Style Programme will be known as the Duchy Award and will give pupils in Year 5 to Year 9 the ability to develop their critical thinking, creativity and collaborative skills across 8 key areas.

The Integrated Prep and Senior Curriculum will feature aligned assessment cycles, and joint KS2 and KS3 extracurricular clubs. Our prep school pupils are already benefitting from the greater use of specialist teachers and teaching spaces, with Prep 5 and 6 pupils enjoying weekly specialist Art lessons with our GCSE/A-level art teacher and Spanish with our Modern Foreign Languages Department staff.

Through-School Education (2–18 years) – ensuring a seamless academic journey, with priority progression into senior school.

Boutique Co-Educational Boarding in Harrogate – the first redeveloped boarding house bedroom is now complete and being enjoyed by some of our current boarders, while preparations are underway for a new boarding gym and wellness garden. Duchy College will offer a unique environment offering both flexi-boarding and full boarding options – the only offering of its kind in Harrogate – to support modern family life.