Yarm School

New research, commissioned by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and carried out by Oxford Economics, shows that Yarm contributes more than £13.6 million to the local economy every year.

The report further highlights that the Teesside independent school supports the employment of 273 people locally, with an estimated 475 jobs across the UK supported by the School’s activities. As well as contributing almost £7 million to the exchequer in taxes each year, the school saves the taxpayer £7.5 million annually by reducing pressure on local state-funded schools.

Presenting the findings of the report to Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, Dr Huw Williams, headmaster of Yarm, said: “The new research is a valuable indication of the contribution Yarm makes to the economy, both locally and nationally, delivering an impressive £24.8 million to GDP, without even considering the impact of the School on attracting parents to move to the area, or their spending in the town’s High Street and other local businesses.

“Furthermore, what the report doesn’t show, but of significant value and importance to us at Yarm, is the substantial contribution the school makes to the local community, both through its active partnerships and community facilities.”

In addition to its economic impact, Yarm School contributes in various other ways to the local community, including:

• More than fifty different partnership and community engagement activities and events take place every year, involving a wide range of organisations and engaging in excess of 6,000 young people from Yarm School and beyond.

• Yarm has partnership links with 12 primary schools through workshops and events including digital leaders and coding, singing days, sports events, author visits and more; each year, several thousand local children attend these events. The Science Roadshow is offered to more than 30 primary schools across Teesside each year, immersing around 500 children in hands-on practical science.

• As well as regular annual fundraising of over £15,000 by a combination of pupil initiatives in school and parents’ association events, there are longer term partnerships with local charities such as Sprouts, whose food bank and community hub the school is pleased to support, and the Yarm Wellness Centre, where the students’ Community Action Group’s most recent project has been the completion of a mural within the centre just off Yarm High Street.

• Pupils at Yarm School run a fortnightly youth club for children with disabilities, which provides opportunities for friendship and fun, and enables parents and carers respite time.

• The school’s newest project, Memento, aims to support sufferers of dementia, their carers and loved ones, through a dementia friendly choir, which met for the first time in December with the aim of becoming a monthly community event.

• The Princess Alexandra Auditorium (PAA) and Friarage Theatre are a significant community arts hub. The PAA provides a performance space for five local dance schools, through whom nearly 300 young dancers tread the boards each year; another 400 have taken to the stage to sing with their own school choirs and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.

• Among 9,000 members of the community who came to see performances of Aladdin last Christmas were 2,000 local children on school trips. Around 10,000 unique customers bought well over 30,000 tickets for shows in the PAA over the last year, with another 1,500-attending theatre, opera, ballet and art screenings in the Friarage Theatre.

Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor, added: “We already know what an asset Yarm School is both to the town and to our region as a whole, but these new figures demonstrate just how lucky we are to have such an esteemed institution investing in our local community.

“From supporting the employment of local people, fantastic community outreach programmes to creating great new public arts spaces, Yarm School is truly a credit to our region and I look forward to supporting the excellent work they continue to do.”

The report follows the news that Yarm School placed first in Teesside and County Durham, and second in the whole of the North East in the Sunday Times league tables, with 78.3% of GCSEs at 9-7, and 84% A*-B at A level.

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF YARM SCHOOL

For further information contact Josh Mason on 01325 363436

Editor’s Notes:

Yarm School, a co-educational day school, is situated in the attractive and historic town of Yarm on a beautiful stretch of the River Tees. It was established in 1978 to provide high quality education for pupils aged 11 to 18. It has its own Preparatory School for boys and girls aged 7 to 10, a Pre-Prep for boys and girls aged four to six years and a Nursery for three-year-olds.

www.yarmschool.org