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  • King's Ely
    The Old Palace
    Palace Green
    Ely
    Cambridgeshire
    CB7 4EW
  • Head: John Attwater
  • T 01353 660707
  • F 01353 667485
  • E [email protected]
  • W www.kingsely.org/
  • An independent school for boys and girls aged from 2 to 18.
  • Boarding: Yes
  • Local authority: Cambridgeshire
  • Pupils: 1,145; sixth formers: 214
  • Religion: Church of England
  • Fees: Day £14,775 - £31,048; Boarding £32,977 - £47,092 pa (last updated on 14/01/2025)
  • Open days: September, October, March, May
  • Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review

What says..

‘We liked the pupils who showed us around, they hadn't been given a script.’ All mention the quality and dedication of the teaching staff: ‘They were all good and I could pick out some really outstanding ones.’ Pupils can write on their work, ‘I’m not sure I get this’, rather than blustering their way and then getting really stuck. King’s is a cathedral school… music is referred to as the ‘beating heart’. Drama productions are great occasions to bring the performing arts together… parents all mention the opportunities offered by it being a ‘rowing school’. Doubtless the famed early-morning starts encourage…

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What the school says...

A friendly, well-balanced, caring community which is valued for getting the best from a broad range of abilities whether Oxbridge or average. Founded over 1,000 years ago, King's Ely enjoys an exceptional setting next to Ely Cathedral. Music is a special strength and up to 500 individual lessons are given each week in addition to timetabled music classes. The equivalent of a whole working day each week is devoted to sport, the unique outdoor pursuits programme (Ely Scheme) and creative and performing arts. There is a strong rowing tradition in addition to team sports - rugby, football, hockey, netball and cricket - golf, basketball, squash and equestrian are also available. Boarding is increasingly popular. The campus is a five minute walk from the station - Cambridge is only 15 minutes by rail - and there are mainline links country-wide. School buses run across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. ...Read more

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Other features

All-through school (for example 3-18 years). - An all-through school covers junior and senior education. It may start at 3 or 4, or later, and continue through to 16 or 18. Some all-through schools set exams at 11 or 13 that pupils must pass to move on.

Choir school - substantial scholarships and bursaries usually available for choristers.

International Study Centre - school has a linked, international study centre for overseas students wishing to improve their English.

Sports

Unusual sports

Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.

Rowing

Fencing

Shooting

What The Good Schools Guide says

Principal

Since 2019, John Attwater, previously head of King Edward’s, Witley. After Rugby School, he took a first in PPE at Oxford, then a PGCE. Naturally musical, his years as a chorister at Chichester Cathedral and a first teaching post at Wells Cathedral School confirmed his appreciation of the very significant place the choral tradition holds within our cultural life, and in education particularly.

The west front of Ely Cathedral provides the spectacular view from his study window, but his desk faces away from it. Was the view too distracting perhaps? ‘No, it was during the pandemic; it made a great backdrop for Zoom meetings.’ He has a ready wit, an appearance like that of a well-dressed don (tweed suit with waistcoat and cufflinks) and he comes across as friendly, thoughtful and not at all overbearing. Parental comments include, ‘nice chap, quiet, pragmatic and sensible’. ‘He knows who your children are.’ Arrived at King’s with just enough time to ‘set my stall out’ before the first lockdown and after five years is now well established.

Credits his predecessor with having made notable changes, particularly the establishment and funding of the girls’ choir and purchasing the Old Bishop’s Palace. The school has grown significantly over the past ten years and continues to grow, but he is not complacent: ‘All schools must continually evolve and think about the world their pupils will deal with.’ Believes its growth is due to the breadth of the educational opportunities and, importantly, ‘the sharpening up of teaching and learning throughout the school’. Unbothered by perceptions of rivalry, he sees King’s as ‘a Cambridge school fifteen minutes down the road. Entrance should be a hurdle rather than a competition. We don’t just want to cream off the academics.’

As principal, he concentrates on strategic decisions, with the day-to-day running in the hands of the three heads, but makes time to be out and about in the school as much as possible – taking sixth form seminars, doing EPQ supervisions, driving the minibus for DofE expeditions and occasional cover lessons. ‘I do miss teaching but it’s something you have to be doing all the time to stay good at it. As a PPE-ist, history and RS were not really my subjects so I enjoyed teaching for teaching rather than from a particular love of the subject.’ He encourages pupils to realise that there is lots of room for success and it may come in different guises but, ‘If you get excited by striving itself, then it doesn’t matter if you don’t win the prize.’

His occasional companion in his study is the family dog, a black Labrador called Oscar, and walking Oscar and evensong in the cathedral are regular pleasures. ‘I hear the bells just before 5.30 and go across to my stall.’ Music apart, he has ‘fits of enthusiasm for things. Recently I bought a painting so I’m learning about picture restoration. Design and technology as a subject has proved extremely useful.’ He is married with two children, one a former chorister now at university, and one still at King’s.

Head of senior school: Since 2018, Jonathan Shaw, who will be leaving in July 2025 when Jane Thomas, currently director of teaching and learning at King’s Ely, will take over the post. After reading geography at Cambridge and a PGCE at Sheffield, she has held several positions at King’s including housemistress and head of department. She is a governor of several multi-academy trusts in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Head of prep school: Since September 2024, Simon Kibler, formerly head of Terrington Hall Prep in Yorkshire. Warm, down to earth and easy to talk to, he is ‘getting to know and getting himself known’ to parents and pupils during his first term. Parents notice him at the gates: ‘I haven’t spoken to him but he’s there.’ Has four children, ‘two now through the education system and two finishing at school and university’.

Head of pre-prep: Since September 2018, Faye Fenton-Stone. Previously deputy head of King’s College School, Cambridge. After a history degree at UCL she taught in north London, then trained and worked as a chartered accountant for a number of years before returning to teaching.

Entrance

King’s takes pupils from the nursery, aged 2, through to 18, with key entry points at ages 7, 11, 13 and 16. Entry to the nursery is without assessment. For the pre-prep (reception to year 2), pupils are invited for informal assessment through play and activities. ‘We are looking to see how they adjust and behave alongside their peers.’ Transfer to the prep is more or less automatic. Entry to later years in the prep (years 3-8) and senior school (years 9-11) is through an online assessment in maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, an interview with the prep/senior head, plus a report from current school. Big influxes, especially from local primaries, in year 7 and from the Cambridge preps in year 9. Prep pupils transfer automatically to the senior school in year 9. Any pupil not likely to thrive will have been identified earlier. For the sixth form, a minimum of six GCSEs at grade 6 with grade 7s in certain subjects, a report from current school, interview and grade predictions.

Exit

Around a quarter of pupils leave post GCSE, but this number is declining, especially since the establishment of the sixth form centre in the Old Palace. Leavers head for the Cambridge sixth forms; presumably money is a factor, but some want a change, particularly if they have been at the school since prep days. After A level, great majority leave for universities such as Durham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh and York with a clutch to music, art and performance colleges each year. Four to Oxbridge in 2024 and four to read medicine/veterinary science with 95 per cent reaching their first choice university: ‘This is what we are most proud of,’ say the school. Gap years and apprenticeships appear not to figure much.

Latest results

In 2024, 47 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; nearly 50 per cent A*/A at A level; In 2023, 46 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 48 per cent A*/A at A level.

Teaching and learning

Parents all mention the quality and dedication of the teaching staff: ‘They were all good and I could pick out some really outstanding ones.’ ‘We try to value children in different ways and provide lots of opportunity to find out what they are good at,’ says the academic deputy responsible for initiating learning strategies. ‘A skill in life is knowing when, and who, to ask for help. With the digital world the information is all there but you have to know how to select and use it correctly.’ Study and research skills are a focus throughout the school and dialogue is encouraged. ‘Pupils can write on their work, “I’m not sure I get this,” rather than blustering their way and then getting really stuck.’

The pre-prep, Acremont, is based across town in a Georgian mansion set in extensive grounds. ‘We make the most of this wonderful asset for creative play and learning,’ says the head, who possesses the reassuring warmth and firmness that children respond so well to. Play-based work in reception gradually gives way to more formal learning with pupils sharing tables in small classes of fifteen. Children are encouraged to stand on their own feet and during our visit we were pleased to see pupils putting kit away in bags and changing their own shoes with some competence.

Their grounding at Acremont sets them on a fair course for coping with the prep school. Here, pupils in years 3 and 4 are grouped together with their own play areas and this helps accustom them to larger-scale premises and the far greater numbers. Setting begins in year 5 for maths, English and science though there is flexibility and the school looks at the needs of each year group before deciding. French is taught in a lively manner throughout the prep (we saw a class having a ‘beetle drive’), with German and Latin in the higher forms and the chance for ‘taster’ sessions of oriental languages.

Parents speak highly of good communication: ‘The parents’ portal tells us most things but it is easy to have a word casually, or email.’ The head is always present at drop-off and pick-up times. Parents comment favourably on the school’s approach: ‘Everyone can find an interest there, everyone can be good at something and the school help them find it. One of mine actually had the chance to learn the harp!’

Mostly specialist teaching by years 7 and 8 – the prep has its own well-equipped science labs, DT, art and music provision. From year 9 onwards pupils are in sets for maths, science, English and languages and through consequences of the timetable, for humanities. Double and triple science options available with the majority taking the triple option. French, German and Latin offered at GCSE: ‘We encourage everyone to take a language but exceptions can be made in certain cases,’ say the school. The Stretch and Challenge enrichment programme that includes classics symposiums, talks on philosophy and space travel, has been piloted for high fliers but the opportunities are likely to be extended.

The grand premises of the Old Palace provide the sixth form with interesting spaces such as the long gallery to work and relax in, areas for silent and not so silent study, common rooms and kitchen plus their own dining room and gym on the ground floor. Our guides spoke of ‘the great range of A levels to study – they try and make it work however weird the combination of subjects’. Three or four is the usual number plus an EPQ. Good working relationships with staff who offer lots of support with interview practice, UCAS and Oxbridge applications. The upper two storeys of the Porta Gatehouse (main entrance to the cathedral close) is home to the school library with over ten thousand books and a glorious vista of the cathedral. It is a well-used space for private study, research and curling up in a comfy chair to read a novel.

Learning support and SEN

Plenty of screening throughout the pre-prep and prep schools so any difficulties are picked up quickly. Around 25 per cent are monitored in the prep school, usually for dyslexia or dyscalculia with a few on the neurodivergent spectrum. In the prep, group work takes place in the department’s own suite of rooms based in a charming single-storey conversion of old storage containers. Parents speak of the sensitive way help is offered. ‘My daughter was invited to come for extra help rather than being told,’ was one comment, and another said, ‘They didn’t wait for a statement before really getting to know my son.’ Plenty of subject clubs, to which pupils receive ‘invitations’, and support for those needing help with organisation and revision. A specific programme is run for international students who need help to improve their English. The expectation is that after one year, all can follow the main curriculum.

The arts and extracurricular

King’s is a cathedral school and the chance to become a chorister and enjoy the outstanding experience of training, rehearsing and singing the cathedral liturgy on a daily basis is now offered equally to boys and girls of the same age. Training normally begins in year 3 or 4 and choristers continue until year 8. Scholarships cover 40 per cent of the day fee and though boarding is no longer essential, if necessary a bursary can help cover extra costs. ‘It means we can throw the net wider for potential recruits,’ say the school, and at least one parent mentioned that without boarding, her son would not have been able to take up the place. The choir looks for naturally musical children with good voices who love singing. They rehearse after breakfast each day and again after school before singing evensong. The school and cathedral have worked a regime that ‘allows choristers to take part in games and matches’ – a notable achievement. Music is referred to as ‘the beating heart of the school’, and in addition to the cathedral choristers, there are choirs for all ages, both auditioned and open to all, string groups, jazz bands, composers’ clubs all providing opportunities for pupils to enjoy their voices and instruments. Around 70 per cent have individual music lessons and there are non-stop recitals, concerts and performances for all ages.

Drama productions are great occasions to bring the performing arts together – we were shown the theatre transformed into a glittering set for this year’s production of Guys and Dolls. ‘If you’re not into the showbiz thing you can do lighting or makeup or management, it’s just so much fun,’ said our guide, herself a dancer and one of the drama prefects. Lots of informal events got up by pupils such as the Open Mike Night and Strictly King’s Dancing. The King’s Arts Centre has gallery space, a dark room, tech and fine art studios for budding artists. Textiles is popular and the entrance hall is used as an exhibition space for designs, many arrayed on dressmaker’s dummies.

Sport

The school makes the most of being just a few minutes from the Great Ouse and pupils all have the chance to row from year 8 onwards. The King’s boathouse is close to that of the Cambridge elite teams. Parents all mention the opportunities offered by it being a ‘rowing school’. ‘My son wasn’t a top competitor but he did enjoy rowing through his whole time at King’s, made lots of friends and found a sport to enjoy at university and beyond, it’s very bonding.’ Doubtless the famed early-morning starts encourage a camaraderie, although, ‘We only get up really early in the summer, just before competitions,’ our guide, a rower, told us.

The outdoor swimming pool is open in the summer and the early part of the autumn term, handy for skills and safety training as well as swimming. Though not identified as a ‘sporty’ school, it has nevertheless been doing well in rugby and football and this, according to parents, is not due to the ‘sporting facilities but the excellent coaches’. Girls all play cricket as well as netball and hockey and numbers for football are increasing all the time. Sixth form have their own gym (as well as permission to use the town’s gym twice a week): there is a fitness suite, climbing walls and endless pitches and courts. Pupils kept fit as fiddles from walking to and fro all day long – a great pleasure on the gloriously sunny day of our visit.

Boarders

From aged 7. Originally, all choristers had to board but this is no longer the case though many prefer to flexi-board. ‘They become tremendous friends with each other and sometimes with rehearsals and late services it’s the best way,’ said a chorister parent. Two junior boarding houses are within the cathedral close and pupils move to senior houses in year 9. The sixth form have their own houses – again, single sex. Boarding houses are comfortable and homelike with live-in matrons (except in the senior boarding houses) and pupils can return to their houses at break and lunchtimes. No Saturday school so a fair number do go home but it’s not just international pupils at weekends since many stay over for events or performances. ‘It’s quite flexible, we allow them to spend the odd night with a local school friend.’ With the railway station close by, sixth formers are allowed to go into Cambridge at weekends and even to London, in certain cases.

Ethos and heritage

Ely is a small, though growing, city set close to Cambridge. The cathedral, the Ship of the Fens, is a spectacular sight as one approaches. The school, founded in 970, is entwined with the cathedral and occupies many buildings within the close and alongside it, a mixture of the ancient and modern. The prep is purpose built with its own play areas, and the recent acquisition of the former diocesan Bishop Woodford House gives separate accommodation for year 8 and the new centre for wellbeing. The former Bishop’s Palace, now sixth form and administrative centre, is opposite the cathedral’s west front and provides a façade for the school that it previously lacked. During our visit, an enormous Christmas tree was being hauled into position and its lighted presence is very much appreciated by the town, with which the school enjoy excellent relations. The school is one of the biggest employers in the area and relations between ‘town and gown’ are cordial. The principal is also a lay canon of the cathedral and the bonds with the school are close. Assemblies, concerts and events are held in the cathedral and ‘it’s a place we all feel very much at home’. Parents like the relationship: ‘We aren’t really church goers but we do like the culture, assemblies in the cathedral and the sense of community that’s fostered.’

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

Tutor groups kept through the school, with the same member of staff, and pupils also belong to a house, day or boarding, which will be single sex above year 8. All houses have common room space; boarders have their bedrooms and day houses give pupils a shared study for four or five, where ‘they can come and work or relax and enjoy being part of a smaller cohort’, including break and lunchtimes. Tutors are the first port of call for any difficulty, but ‘you can speak to anyone you get on with,’ said a pupil and everyone knows someone to go to. Minor discipline problems usually dealt with at tutor and house level with warning systems in place and the emphasis on defusing any potential problems; the occasional Friday evening/Saturday morning detention as severe as things get. Prefects are given particular briefs, one being diversity, and there are groups pupils can join to discuss issues and receive support. ‘The school is a very accepting place. You can be yourself,’ say pupils, and a parent said, ‘It’s a kind place. They don’t put each other down the whole time.’

Pupils and parents

Attracts wide mix of backgrounds: traditional business and farming East Anglian families and, increasingly, the offspring of Cambridge academics, scientists and medics, plus those with London-based careers These parents are looking for ‘a broader reach than the Cambridge schools offer. They offer opportunity to everyone, not just the top tier and they are enthusiastic.’ ‘We liked the pupils who showed us round; they hadn’t been given a script.’ Pupils are down to earth and proud of their school, but ‘they don’t come across as entitled,’ a parent said.

Money matters

Choristers receive scholarships of 40 per cent plus a means-tested bursary, if necessary. Academic, music, sport, art, STEM and drama scholarships available.

The last word

This is a school that provides an excellent academic education within an extraordinarily broad extracurricular programme. Opportunities abound and pupils are fortunate to spend their days among the medieval marvels of the cathedral and close. Parents appreciate the rising levels of achievement, but hope King’s will ‘hang on to its individuality and resist pressures to ape Cambridge schools’. This is a school whose star is in the ascendant.

Please note: Independent schools frequently offer IGCSEs or other qualifications alongside or as an alternative to GCSE. The DfE does not record performance data for these exams so independent school GCSE data is frequently misleading; parents should check the results with the schools.

Who came from where

Who goes where

Special Education Needs

SENCO and Learning Support Assistant see individuals and small groups before, during and after timetabled day.

Condition Provision for in school
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Might cover/be referred to as;
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), PDA , Social skills, Sensory processing disorder
HI - Hearing Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Hearing Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment
Y
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Learning needs, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, Sensory processing
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic , OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, Tics, Tourettes
Y
PD - Physical Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
PD - Physical Disability
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Might cover/be referred to as;
Anxiety , Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, Trauma
Y
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
Might cover/be referred to as;
DLD - Developmental Language Disorder, Selective mutism, SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, Cerebral Palsy (CP)
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Auditory Processing, DCD, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting, Other specific learning difficulty, SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Y
VI - Visual Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Special facilities for Visually Impaired, VI - Visual Impairment

Who came from where


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