Dame Allan’s Schools were founded in 1705 by local philanthropist Dame Eleanor Allan to provide a ‘proper’ education for 40 poor boys and 20 poor girls in the city parishes of St Nicholas and St John. As such, they are two of the oldest schools in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Girls’ School is believed to be the eighth oldest independent girls' school in the country.

From their early beginnings in the west of Newcastle, the Schools moved to College Street in the city centre in the 1880s. At this site, the Schools had one of the first physics laboratories in Newcastle. We are incredibly proud of this and honour our roots with a state-of-the-art design technology suite at our present site in Fowberry Crescent, Fenham.

As the school looks to the next major building developments, we have reflected on the buildings used since the Schools were founded. We have also included memories of the Schools and news of the Allanians, which we have divided into cohorts by decade.

Take a look!