this time there were 470 boys at the school, more than half of whom progressed to universities or higher education. Birkbeck introduced squash to the school, and made it one of the best-known schools for the sport in the country in the 1960s and 1970s. The novelist Will Cohu described the school in 1974 as "a rugged Victorian establishment in a brooding Jacobean-style building overlooking the Tees ... The school was popular with parents who were in the armed forces. It was cheap, did not have any reputation for abuse, and was strong on games". The direct-grant revenue stream was abolished in 1975, making the school reliant upon independent funding. An appeal was launched that year to ensure the school's survival, with £109,000 (£750,000 in 2011) raised within nine months. The school's first computer was installed in January 1978. Frank Macnamara became headmaster in 1980, described as "an affable enthusiast" in The Guardian. Under his tenure the school would develop its reputation for fostering world-class rugby talent. For the duration of its existence (1980–1997) the school took part in the Assisted Places Scheme. Girls were first admitted to the Sixth Form in 1981, and the school has been fully co-educational since 1993. By 1992 there were around 610 pupils with an approximately 50:50 split between boarding and day pupils. From 1993, as the result of a HMC initiative, Eastern European children were awarded scholarships to study at the school; by 1995, 8 per cent of the school's intake came from overseas. Michael Featherstone, a former England hockey international, was appointed headmaster in 1997, and the school enjoyed considerable academic success during his tenure. School site One of the North East's most famous schools, Barnard Castle is set in its own 50-acre grounds on the edge of town. It is located in Teesdale, and is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Giles Deacon has said of the location that "you could just walk out and you were in the middle of the Pennines". The Bowes Museum is situated next to the school. The school caters for pupils aged 4 to 18, with pupils younger than 11 being taught in a separate on-site preparatory school (Prep School). The original building is now used mainly for accommodation and administration and is described as "stately" by The Independent. The school spire is known colloquially as "The Pepperpot". It also contains the