The Senior School and Sixth Form border the River Tees and are off Yarm High Street.

[citation needed] The School was opened under the headship of R. Neville Tate and was located on the site of Yarm Parish Church, as well as an additional three acres of land all on the Spital road.

These buildings had previously housed a Free Grammar School that had been providing education to disadvantaged boys since 1590.

In 2009 a £20 million redevelopment plan[4] won approval by Stockton Council – and with it, a potential boost to the Teesside economy.

The Friarage building is a large Georgian manor house, that was built after the demolition of the Dominican Friary which had existed there from the 12th till the 16th century.

The current Sixth Form common rooms are in the old Friarage stable block, which was built as part of the Georgian development – the original coach archways are still visible.

At the same time, the 'Hunt Building' for History, Geography and English was built, named after and opened by the former governor of the Falkland Islands, Sir Rex Hunt.

This included the development of a new dining hall and construction of new class rooms alongside the riverside.

The school teaches subjects towards the International General Certificate of Secondary Education and GCSE qualifications, including English Language and English Literature, Mathematics, Sciences, and Languages (at least one of French, German, Spanish, or Latin).

On 23 March 2013 the 1st XV won the U18 Daily Mail Vase against Felsted School 17–15 at Twickenham.

[21] The school has been to international events, such as the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and the Head of the Lagan in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

It regularly produces high-performance athletes, most notably Kat Copeland, Olympic Gold medallist.

Each house is named after prominent British saints associated with the North East of England: Aidan, Bede, Cuthbert and Oswald.

In December 2006 two former pupils added a graffito of a penis on the roof of the Friarage building, which was recorded by Google Earth.