Down High School, also called DHS and Down High Grammar School, is a controlled co-educational Grammar School located in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. The school encompasses students from the ages of eleven to eighteen in the senior school—of which there are, approximately, 950 pupils—and also features a Preparatory Department of 130 students (Reception to Primary 7). On 21 July 2014, Education Minister John O'Dowd approved a development proposal to close the Preparatory Department of Down High School. On 30 June, the Preparatory Department closed. There are roughly 250 pupils engaged in A-level study in the Sixth Form. In July 2015 some £20 million was granted by the Education minister to begin the new build project in 2017.