St Peter's School, York A GSG School

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.

Sports

Rowing

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head Master

Since 2019, Jeremy Walker MA, previously head of King’s School Rochester. Educated at Sherborne School and read theology at Oxford before taking an MA in educational leadership and management at the University of London Institute of Education. Started his career at Bishop Stopford School where he became head of department after a year, thence to Ardingly as head of religious studies and theory of knowledge, and housemaster followed by Berkhamsted School where he was head of sixth form and member of the senior leadership team. He had big shoes to fill but has quickly made a strong impression with parents who describe him as ‘visionary’ while being ‘caring and approachable’. They are impressed that he is keen to be seen and known in all three sections of the school. Pupils have a similar view, seeing him as genuinely interested in their wellbeing and in the diversity and inclusivity of the school community.

His educational philosophy is all about creating rounded individuals. A longer school week (400 minutes more than the average), Saturday school and a myriad of co-curricular activities mean that pupils are extremely busy, but they generally achieve better than in other similar schools according to independent value added data.

Mr Walker is not resting on St Peter’s undoubted laurels, his vision is to create a learning community following the teachings of Alcuin of York who espoused the liberal arts. ‘We want to produce amazing adults who will have a fantastic time not just in their lives but also now, in school. It’s not all about the future, much of what we do has to be about the challenge and fun of the now.’ Very down to earth, his unofficial motto is the quintessentially Yorkshire expression, ‘Let's crack on’. He is married to Harriet, with a daughter still at school and a son recently moved on to Durham University.

Head of St Peter’s 2-8, Antonia Clarke, formerly deputy head. A teacher for 30 years both in the state and independent sector, prior to coming to St Peter's she was head of pre-prep at Cundall Manor School. She completed a master’s in school leadership of mental health in 2021 before taking on the role of mental health lead 2-18. Other interests lie in educational research, particularly using metacognition to empower children to be proactive and engaged learners. She is married to Sid and has three grown-up children. When not at school she likes to explore the world with adventures often involving scuba diving. At home her interests include cooking, spending time with family and friends and enjoying the beautiful Yorkshire countryside.

Head of St Peter’s 8 to13, Phil Hardy. He qualified as a sports psychologist at Northumbria University and worked in Newcastle and the University of Alberta in Canada before settling in education. From a very early age, sport was a significant part of his life, playing football, rugby, tennis and golf to name a few. Hockey, however, became his greatest love. As a former member of the England hockey team, Mr Hardy coaches boys’ and girls’ hockey at the school and supports the strategic leadership of sport at the school. He is married to Christa, a management consultant, and has a son who attends St Peter’s. He is a member of the IAPS Council and the IAPS national advisor for 2-8 age range.

Entrance

Automatic entry from St Peter’s 2-8 (formerly Clifton) to St Peter’s 8-13 (formerly St Olave’s) and then from St Peter’s 8-13 to St Peter’s 13-18. Around 85 per cent of those who start in 2-8 follow this route, the rest arrive via entrance test at any age. Entrance to St Peter’s 8-13 is by test and interview so assessment and filtering does take place at 11, 13 and 16. Essentially the intake will all have an above-average ability profile whether from the feeder schools or elsewhere. Oversubscribed by as much as three to one for day places which in itself creates a further element of selection. Entry for boarders is selective but not all year groups are oversubscribed. School says it isn’t just looking at academic potential but at what else a child can bring in terms of can-do attitude, creativity, and co-curricular activities.

In 2020 St Peter’s became the York Minster choir school so takes 40 pupils (eight in each of J1 to J5) as choristers. Choristers are auditioned and must live close enough to contribute fully to the life of the York Minster choir. No formal experience is required but candidates need to be able to sing in tune and pitch notes.

A minimum of six GCSEs at grade 6 or above is required for entry to the sixth form, however given that the school is oversubscribed you can assume that the 30 to 40 external entrants each year will need at least grade 7 in the subjects to be studied.

Exit

Most pupils move seamlessly through the three sections of the school. In 2023, 10 per cent left at the end of year 11. Typically 90 plus per cent to university, more than half to Russell Group institutions. Subjects are evenly balanced across arts, social science and sciences. Newcastle, Durham, Nottingham, Liverpool and Northumbria are all popular choices. Many take gap years. Three to Oxbridge and three medics in 2023, plus one to the University of California, Berkeley.

Latest results

In 2023, 68 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 44 per cent A*/A at A level (80 per cent A*-B). In 2019 (the last pre-pandemic results), 69 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 57 per cent A*/A at A level/Pre-U (86 per cent A*-B).

Teaching and learning

Each of the three sections of St Peter’s offers a distinctive style of teaching and learning which together provide a holistic education.

St Peter’s 2-8 is entirely thematic in its approach. While this might raise eyebrows with some, it really is a joyous way to see children learn and parents speak very highly of it. No ranks of desks in the first few years, children learn in groups, often sitting on the floor, in very creative child led classrooms. The previous head built his team and the curriculum carefully over many years, basing the approach on the best elements of Steiner, Montessori and Forest schools. Continuously assessing how pupils are doing, teachers adapt their planning according to how the week has gone. Technically there are no school rules; rather there are seven values which the pupils all seem to know and apply. School accepts that children learn partly by making mistakes, there’s a no shouting culture and everything is aligned back to the values. Children can choose when to use an iPad for research purposes and there are QR codes around classrooms which can be scanned to find extension activities. Pupils are taught Italian throughout by a native speaker.

Parents and pupils love this early approach and have mixed feelings about the significant change with the move to St Peter’s 8-13. Some feel the children are well and truly ready for greater formality while others think ‘maybe the best bits of the more relaxed atmosphere could be carried on further up the school’. One said, ‘Every day you know they are going to have a good day, it’s really special, they’ve created an incredible learning environment.’ Pupils spoke very warmly of the kind teachers and really value the fact that they have ‘proper PE’ and can use the excellent sports facilities on the campus.

The 2-8 building is beautiful, mostly purpose built in the last 20 years and completely separate from the rest of St Peter’s. It has its own light and airy dining room, three music practice rooms, lots of movement space, a central wellbeing area for those needing a bit of extra nurture or time out, a well-stocked library and even its own design technology area with ‘proper saws and hammers’ which the children love.

Outside, pupils play, take risks, and get muddy, which of course they are delighted to do – not a blade of plastic grass. There’s a working water pump for some basic physics and a pile of heavy-duty building materials for some real creativity, much more exciting than Lego.

St Peter’s 8-13 is quite a different beast. The same four pillars, seven values and key skills carry on seamlessly from the 2-8 school, but things are run on much more traditional prep school lines: formal classrooms, uniform and a more structured approach to teaching and learning. Head acknowledges that this sometimes leads to negative comparison between this section of the school and the rest, but we felt this isn’t fair. Parents report that transition is handled well and almost all move from 2 to 13 and then 85 per cent to 13-18 so the school is clearly getting a great deal right. In J1 they are taught by the class teacher with some specialist teaching. Subjects are treated separately rather than thematically. By J2 and J3 they spend a third of the week with the class teacher doing English, humanities and PSHE with subject specialists for the rest including classics. The curriculum in J4 and J5 gives the pupils a choice of two languages out of French, German and Spanish. We did wonder if there was a missed opportunity to build on the Italian studied in 2-8. All the teachers other than classics and MFL teach solely in 8-13 so the pupils get the teachers’ undivided attention as they are not distracted by the demands of examination classes. York Minster choristers (eight in each year group) will also have choir practice for an hour before and after school.

Pupils’ excellent art work is displayed prominently throughout the school and the emphasis on music isn’t limited to the choristers, with good practice rooms and three quarters of the school learning musical instruments. There are two well-equipped modern science labs and an industrial standard food technology room. Pupils don’t carry books, they have coloured folders for each subject to encourage personal organisation (and the biggest personal lockers we have ever seen in a school). Superb library with full-time librarian and its own garden – there’s a 40-minute reading lesson for all pupils every week.

Pupils in the 8-13 section told us that it’s hard work and the long days and Saturday mornings can be a shock to the system at first. However, they all agreed that the longer week was worth it for the fantastic range of opportunities. They love doing ‘proper’ science and design technology as well as the huge range of sports and music, the business enterprise club and the Junior Dukes (precursor to the Duke of Edinburgh scheme). When quizzed about behaviour, they acknowledged that things sometimes go wrong for a pupil but were clear ‘we all know what to do and when, and the teachers help us get it right’. They felt that the school was inclusive and gave equal opportunities to all, but would like more opportunities for girls to be involved in hard-ball cricket, football and rugby.

St Peter’s 13-18, while unashamedly academic, is definitely not an exam factory. There is the inevitable focus on preparation for exams and university entrance but the fifth and sixth formers we spoke to seemed comparatively relaxed, even though it was the run up to GCSEs and A levels. All the more remarkable given that these year groups were experiencing public examinations for the first time following the Covid lockdowns.

Pupils take ten or eleven subjects at GCSE, including further maths for some, at least one foreign language and religious studies. All take a dual award science qualification (rather than three separate sciences) and the time gained is used to prepare for individual sciences at A level. Classics, Latin and Gratin (Latin and Greek together) are also on offer. There’s a good design technology department but no food technology which is a subject pupils would like to see. In line with the head’s holistic vision learning is not just based around an examination curriculum but also the values and skills (derived from the World Economic Forum trading skills data) young people will need to thrive.

Normal range of A levels on offer plus classical civilisation, Latin, Greek, drama, DT, philosophy and theology, politics and physical education but no psychology as yet. Modern languages are French, German and Spanish. Pupils start with four A levels for the first term then most drop to three. More than half also take the extended project qualification.

Learning support and SEN

Support for those with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and ASD but the school is clear that there is no provision for one-to-one support and pupils must be able to cope within the normal classroom environment. Approximately 10 per cent have an ed psych report; five per cent qualify for extra time in exams. Third modern language replaced by extra English and study skills for some in St Peter’s 8-13. The learning support team also has responsibility for emotional wellbeing and building resilience. There are booster classes for a term to target specific skills with a focus on learning behaviour and growth mindsets.

The arts and extracurricular

Creative and extracurricular provision is excellent. Drama is well catered for with whole-school plays or musicals in alternate years. Art facilities include the Whitestone Gallery where pupils art and design work is displayed and two floors of art rooms plus ceramics studio. Many learn a musical instrument or two, 300 individual lessons each week with professional specialist music staff, 160-strong choir and plenty of opportunities to perform. Each boarding house has a practice room with piano. Concerts galore throughout the year and we heard some super after school singing from the 2-8 pupils. Sixth formers have a variety of performance groups including a barber shop quartet. Over 100 pupils involved with community action projects and all participate in charity fundraising.

DofE and CCF flourishing as are a variety of clubs such as ECO club, chess, debating, Young Enterprise, Keystone (school magazine) and LGBTQ+. Plenty of trips including expeditions to Morocco, sports tours to New Zealand and South Africa, language holidays and music tours to the USA, Prague and Italy.

Sport

Wednesday and Saturday afternoons are given over to sport for 13-18. For 8-13 it’s Tuesday afternoons plus an additional timetabled lesson for games. While St Peter’s competes at the highest level against the likes of Millfield, there is a genuine commitment to inclusivity in sports with the school regularly sending out four or five teams in different sports. Pupils told us, ‘It doesn’t matter if you aren’t great, you get to have a go.’ Others said that they weren’t into team sports but had found an unexpected home in the other activities on offer such as rowing. They were clear that if you weren’t traditionally very sporty there was so much on offer that you didn’t feel out of place. Top-notch facilities include a beautiful new swimming pool (opened by Tom Daley), brand new boat house on the River Ouse, tennis courts, all-weather cricket pitches, sports halls for 8-13 and 13-18 and plenty of playing fields.

Boarders

Full boarding starts at age 11 and accounts for around 15 per cent of the school population, rising to 25 per cent in the sixth form. In the junior boarding house most stay on a part-time basis with very few full boarders. Four senior houses, two for boys and two for girls, vary in age and style from contemporary and purpose built to converted Victorian houses. Dorms with up to four beds, some single rooms for sixth formers, no en-suite bathrooms. All were warm, inviting and comfortable, plenty of common room space, nice kitchens and good recently refurbished bathrooms. For the most part boarders eat in the school dining halls. Menus offer a wide choice and pupils say food is ‘great’, with ‘portions to fill the hungriest growing teenager’; Sunday brunch is legendary. Parents commented on how well school caters for those with allergies and food intolerances. Pupils and parents spoke warmly of the boarding staff and the fantastic trips on offer. One parent said, ‘We never intended for boarding to be a long-term option but even when we moved back to York he begged to carry on boarding, he loved it so much.’ Seamless links with the day school mean any problems are picked up quickly.

Pupils are allowed to visit town twice a week (more in older years) and for younger ones a timetable of supervised events is on offer. Roughly 70 per cent stay at weekends.

Ethos and heritage

The school was founded in 627 AD by Paulinus, first Archbishop of York, and is the third oldest in the world. Originally part of York Minster, it now occupies an impressive Grade II listed site nearby in Clifton, with 47 acres, river access and beautiful chapel, all within easy walking distance the city centre and station.

Campus is lovely with a range of buildings mixing historic and very modern. There has obviously been a lot of recent work to upgrade facilities, especially the common areas. Everything we saw was well presented and well equipped. Other recent additions include four bright biology labs, a sixth form microbiology lab, chemistry lab and DT room with CadCam technology. The new maths and languages building is lovely although we thought a little bit of art on the walls wouldn’t go amiss.

St Peter’s is a Christian foundation with strong ties to the Minster, daily religious assemblies and a resident chaplain. However, the pupils were clear that while this is important it does not limit what the school does and there is a place here for those of all faiths or none.

Former pupils (Old Peterites) include Guy Fawkes, Alcuin (eighth-century scholar), actor Greg Wise, composer John Barry, 18th-century poet laureate Laurence Eusden, Harry Gration (journalist, TV presenter), C. Northcote Parkinson (inventor of Parkinson’s Law), Katherine Downes (sports presenter) and Clare Wise (previous director of the British Film Commission).

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

Very strong emphasis on wellbeing and positive mental health. In both 8-13 and 13-18 there are full-time counsellors and safe space for pupils housed right in the heart of school by the library so that there is no stigma attached to seeking support and advice by having to go somewhere hidden away. While teaching groups are typically between 20 and 24 (so not particularly small), form groups are 10 to 12, giving form tutors plenty of chance to get to know their charges and be supportive. In 13-18 advice, help and support comes from tutors, house staff, health centre staff or the school chaplain. Pupils tell us that the unforgivables are drugs and bullying and there is zero tolerance for smoking.

Traditional blazer and tie from 8 through to 18 with a suit in the sixth form; school has recently allowed trousers for girls and is equally clear skirts for boys would be an option. We were very struck by the inclusive language used by all at St Peter’s; there seemed to be a genuine commitment from leadership and a sense of very positive moves towards real inclusion from pupils and parents.

Pupils and parents

Day pupils mainly from York and surrounding towns and villages, Harrogate and Leeds. Majority of boarders live within an hour’s drive but others from around the UK and international (China, Russia, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa and Ukraine). Parents are mostly in business and the professions and school is a popular choice for Forces families. Plenty of parents who are Old Peterites themselves but also a good mix of those new to the independent sector and some families who have moved their children to St Peter’s midstream, one commenting, ‘He was fairly happy and doing okay in the state system, but Peter’s changed his life, he arrived knowing no-one but loved it from the first moment.’

Money matters

Bursaries available at 11, 13 and sixth form, regardless of previous school. School emphasises that all bursaries are allocated on a rigorous means-test of income and assets rather than setting fixed thresholds. Honorary (ie no money) academic scholarships are awarded at 13+. Music scholarships at 13+ and 16+, some include a fee remission, others offer reduced music tuition fees. Head has ambitious plans to increase the number of pupils on bursaries

The last word

Essentially three schools in one, St Peter’s really does offer something for every child as long they can cope with the academic demands and the undoubted commitment of a full day on Saturday. A lovely, warm inclusive place, with hard-working and motivated staff, a committed student body and great results. All this plus more extras than anyone could wish for. Why wouldn’t you, we ask?

Special Education Needs

SEN provision is adapted to suit the individual and 3 specialist part-time staff work with individuals as required and may recommend external specialist assessment or support. Ten per cent or so of each year group have an SLD Selection. School has selective entry from the Pre-prep at aged four and upwards. Continuous assessment through the junior school to the senior school is usual. With very few overseas pupils there is no formalised additional English but this can be arranged if required. 09-09

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