the school and its own set of tutors to look after members of the house. There are eight vertically integrated houses in total, each with its own colour and heraldic-like shield: The two boys' boarding houses are York (red) and Northumberland (pale blue). The three-day boys' houses are Tees (dark green) and Dale (burgundy), both formed by splitting Teesdale House, the first day boys' house, and finally Durham (gold), which was converted from boarding to day when the school expanded in the 1990s. The boarding girls belong to the original Sixth Form girls' house, Longfield (dark pink), and the new houses formed for day girls when the school became co-educational are Marwood (purple) and more recently Bowes (pale green). The school considered abolishing its boarding facilities when, like many boarding schools, it suffered a significant drop in numbers during the 1990s. However, numbers unexpectedly improved around the turn of the millennium, and this turnaround has often been attributed to the positive image that boarding received from the Harry Potter series. The school is interdenominational, whilst maintaining its foundation in Christian principles and values. Governance The school is a charitable trust governed by a number of foundation and four nominated governors, the latter with links to Durham and Newcastle Universities, Durham County Council / Barnard Castle Town Council and the Old Barnardians' Club. The school aims to offer the best independent education to children from the North East of England. According to information provided to the Charities Commission, the income of the school was £8.7 million in the 2017-18-year, with the vast majority of the revenue coming from school fees. It has been a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference since 1944. Extracurricular activities The houses form the basis for much competition within the school. The first competition in the school year is the House Singing Competition in which every member of the school takes part. Thereafter, throughout the school year, the houses compete against each other in a variety of academic, artistic, and sporting events. An extensive range of almost 100 after-school activities are offered throughout the year, such as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme up to Gold level. Sport Rugby for boys and hockey for girls are the major sports during the Autumn term. In the Spring Term the boys play football, hockey and squash whilst the girls play netball and lacrosse. Both boys and girls take