The Pilgrims' School A GSG School
- The Pilgrims' School
3 The Close
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 9LT - Head: Tim Butcher
- T 01962 854189
- F 01962 843610
- E [email protected]
- W www.thepilgrims-school.co.uk/
- An independent school for boys aged from 4 to 13.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: Hampshire
- Pupils: 255
- Religion: Church of England
- Fees: Day £12,699 - £22,872; Boarding £29,007; Choral scholar £17,403 pa
- Open days: individual visits by appointment and invitation to events
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
- ISI report: View the ISI report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Pilgrims’ is an academic school (‘we want the boys to excel,’ says the second master) but learning here looks like fun. We visited a host of lively lessons, where boys were brimming with enthusiasm. ‘Has everyone got their goggles on?’ quizzed the head of science as he guided year 6 pupils through a practical experiment on the states of matter. We observed a rapt English class where year 8 scholars were keenly analysing William Wordsworth’s sonnet, Composed Upon Westminster Bridge...
What the school says...
Located in the heart of historic Winchester, less than one hour from London, The Pilgrims' School aims to educate its pupils well, to give them self-confidence and a delight in achievement. It aims at much more than this, however.
The Pilgrims' School is home to two professional choirs, the Winchester Cathedral Choristers and the Quiristers of the Winchester College chapel choir. In unique association with Winchester College, we have high academic standards and outstanding resources. As one of the major choir schools of the UK, The Pilgrims' School has many talented and budding musicians, Choristers and Quiristers aside, who inspire in all a love of music and the arts. As a church school, it has sound discipline and exceptional pastoral care. As a sporting school, it plays all the major games with almost daily rigour. High ambition, zeal and determination, an awareness of the worth of others, solid commitment, a deep faith; these are the fundamentals we try to instil.
Rather than open days, we prefer to offer an individual tour of the school with one of our senior boys as a guide, affording the opportunity to sample the working day character of the school, to see our style of teaching and to spend time with key members of staff. Visitors are always very welcome, please feel free to call us if you would like to book a visit. ...Read more
Do you know this school?
The schools we choose, and what we say about them, are founded on parents’ views. If you know this school, please share your views with us.
Please login to post a comment.
Other features
Choir school - substantial scholarships and bursaries usually available for choristers.
Sports
Unusual sports
Rowing
Fencing
Shooting
Sailing
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since September 2023, Tim Butcher, previously head of the prep school and deputy head at Hallfield School Trust in Edgbaston. He attended Pilgrims’ as a boy (becoming head quirister and a first team player across all sports) and returned as head of history and assistant housemaster in his early career. ‘My time at Pilgrims’ as a boy was foundational for me,’ he says.
A University of Warwick graduate, he completed his teacher training at the University of York. He later became head of boarding at the Chorister School, Durham before moving to Winchester House School as deputy head and then to Perrott Hill as head.
Entrance
Main entry points are reception, year 3 and year 6 but a growing number are joining in year 5 to prepare for ISEB pre-tests, as well as other years. Before being offered a place boys sit assessments in maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning to ensure they will thrive. Older boys have interviews with subject teachers. Choral scholars join in year 4 (choristers) and year 5 (quiristers).
Boys joining the pre-prep are invited to ‘stay and play’ sessions, where staff chat to parents and see how children interact with their peers. The intention is that boys joining the pre-prep will stay at Pilgrims’ till year 8 – and virtually all do.
Exit
In 2023 In addition, 10 boys have passed the Winchester College Entrance Exam and 10 boys have achieved strong Common Entrance results to a range of schools in the south of England including Eton, Charterhouse, Bradfield, Marlborough, Sherborne and Canford. In 2023 6 scholarships and 7 exhibitions and one the Dr Gray All rounder Award to Bradfield.
Pilgrims' is not the prep school for Winchester College but enough families see it as a route for there to be a separate form in year 8 (10 went there in 2023). Winchester exams are earlier and different from Common Entrance, which accounts for another form, as well a third group for scholarship candidates. In addition to Winchester, boys regularly gain places at Eton, Sherborne, Canford, Bradfield, Charterhouse and Marlborough. Prepares scholarship boys very specifically and successfully for the academic requirements of other major schools. Unsurprisingly, music awards and exhibitions are also plentiful. In 2023, 13 boys were awarded scholarships and exhibitions.
Our view
Pilgrims’ is an academic school (‘we want the boys to excel,’ says the second master) but learning here looks like fun. We visited a host of lively lessons where boys were brimming with enthusiasm. ‘Has everyone got their goggles on?’ quizzed the head of science as he guided year 6 pupils through a practical experiment on the states of matter. We observed a rapt English class where year 8 scholars were keenly analysing William Wordsworth’s sonnet, Composed upon Westminster Bridge. ‘The teaching is amazing,’ said a parent. ‘The teachers are really passionate about their subjects and get the boys excited about them too.’ Another described teachers as ‘reassuring and nurturing’ and said queries and worries were always acknowledged and acted on promptly. In years 3 and 4 boys do English, maths, history and geography with form teachers (plus science, sport, music, French, art and DT with subject specialists) but from year 5 up they have specialist teachers for every subject. French taught from reception and Latin and ancient Greek from year 6.
Classes are small – never more than 16 and often fewer. Pilgrims’ boys are able but there is a range of attainments and all are taught to achieve above and beyond their potential. Eighteen have specialist one-to-one weekly lessons for difficulties in areas like reading, spelling, comprehension, maths, attention, motor skills and coordination, processing speeds, working memory, executive functioning and anxiety. ‘Our son is dyslexic and was falling behind in the state-school environment,’ a father told us. ‘We moved him to Pilgrims’ and he has absolutely thrived. It has been transformative and wonderful.’
Pre-prep has its own purpose-built centre between the prep and the deanery garden, with a tributary of the River Itchen running alongside (fenced off for safety). The pre-prep playground has a superb view of Winchester Cathedral and boys play out in all weathers. ‘We are outside as much as we can be,’ says the pre-prep head. There’s also a forest school – we met a bunch of cheery boys collecting autumn leaves ready to paint them. Pre-prep has launched a drive to use natural resources where possible, with a concerted effort to reduce plastic, use less paper (the boys have digital learning journals) and recycle and reuse. Classrooms have hessian display boards – both practical and beautiful. Buddy system means the transition from the pre-prep to the prep goes smoothly. ‘The pre-prep is a really great place to start a child’s journey through education,’ said a parent.
Not surprisingly, with two professional choirs and a plethora of other choirs and orchestras, music is a joy. Twenty-two cathedral choristers, sing with the Winchester Cathedral choir and 16 college quiristers sing with the Winchester College chapel choir. Known as the Cs and Qs or ‘the reds and the blues’ (choristers wear red jerseys, quiristers wear blue), they sing daily to the highest standard. A chorister’s parent told us: ‘It’s a bit like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When our son became a chorister it was like winning a golden ticket.’ Eighty-seven per cent learn an instrument, and many boys learn two. Head of music asks year 7s and 8s to ‘sell’ their instruments to year 3 pupils – in other words explain why the younger boys should take them up. ‘We offer four free taster lessons and this year five of them went for the double bass,’ he told us proudly. ‘It’s fine until their parents say: “But our car is a Mini.”’ Music lessons are arranged on a rota basis to minimise disruption to lessons. A plethora of musical groups to join – senior and junior choirs, chamber choir, orchestra, big band, sinfonietta and many more. ‘We try to give boys the opportunity to be in two groups – one in their comfort zone and another to extend and challenge them,’ says the head of music.
Drama is on the curriculum but there are plenty of other opportunities to perform on stage, including plays, musicals, Pilgrims’ Got Talent and the Christmas cabaret. Large, airy art room where enthusiastic head of art has devised an exciting array of artistic pursuits. We admired Rothko-inspired paintings by year 3s, landscapes by year 5s and pop-art self-portraits by year 8s. ‘I embed art history in everything they do,’ he says.
For a smallish school Pilgrims’ fields an astonishing number of sports teams – soccer, rugby, hockey, cricket and athletics. PE all year round and swimming lessons in the open-air pool in the summer and up until the October half-term. Other sports offered through the co-curricular programme, including judo, karate, fives, rowing, squash, sailing, tennis, golf, fencing, fishing and water polo. Extensive games pitches have views of the Bishop’s Palace and the ruins of Wolvesey Castle. Lots of after-school activities, known as ‘commoners’ – everything from computer coding to knitting. Chess is big at the school – there’s an outdoor chess board with giant-sized pieces and boys compete against other schools. The aim is for boys to follow their passions – ‘be it Tiddlywinks or first XI football,’ says the second master.
The school, tucked in a quiet close between Winchester Cathedral and Winchester College, has been on its present site since 1931 and is a wonderful mix of ancient and modern. Light, airy classrooms and library blend with the neighbouring medieval and Georgian houses. We were very taken with the Pilgrims’ Hall, used for assembly and dating back to the 14th century. The school has services at Easter and Christmas in Winchester Cathedral and in the chapel at Winchester College.
Very sensible policies on mobile devices. Day boys can’t bring mobile phones to school but boarders can use them for 40 minutes in the evening. After that devices are locked away. Device-free nights on Mondays and Thursdays. If they want to ring home at other times they can use the school’s iPads or landlines. Boarders write postcards home every Sunday. Pastoral care very well structured – mainly through form teachers until the last three years, when boys are in tutor groups of up to nine. ‘There is a real camaraderie and sense of happiness here,’ a mother told us, while a father said: ‘Kindness and consideration are woven through the school like a stick of rock.’ PSHE for all year groups and head nurse has recently introduced ‘Group’ for year 7s, an informal 45-minute gathering where they share thoughts, feelings and concerns. ‘It helps to develop the boys’ emotional literacy,’ she says. House system – boys belong to one of five ‘sets’, with lots of inter-set competitions.
Food gets the thumbs-up. Breakfast and supper for boarders (and day pupils if they want it) is cafeteria-style while lunch is table service, with a member of staff sitting at each table to encourage good manners and conversation. Option of wrap-around care from 7am to 6pm fits in well with parents’ working hours. A tuck shop – the delightfully named Num Nums – is open twice a week for boarders. Year 8 boys have an annual social with girls from St Swithun’s although one parent said they’d like to see more interaction with local girls’ schools – either drama productions or a joint sports day perhaps.
Past pupils include novelist Patrick Gale, comedian Jack Dee, broadcaster Jon Snow and four BBC choirboys of the year since 2000.
Boarders
Boys can board from year 4 (Forces children are occasionally allowed to board in year 3). Full and weekly boarding available, but no flexi. By year 8 three-quarters board. International boarders from the US, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Nigeria, Luxembourg, Turkey, Spain and Italy. The two boarding houses originate from the choristers’ and quiristers’ needs, with choristers in the main school and quiristers in Q school. The dorms are the nicest you’ll find anywhere – six or eight bunk beds in imaginatively decorated rooms (themes include sports, Dr Seuss, Superheroes, Tintin and Beano). The sports dorm, for instance, has a vast mural of a football pitch painted on one wall and bookshelves made from skateboards above every bed.
Teaching houseparents, with their own boys in school, create a family atmosphere, and the three paediatric nurses are very approachable. The san has recently been renamed R & R, short for rest and recuperation (it was named in a competition by a boy). Choristers who stay on over Christmas and Easter for choir clearly have a whale of a time – with a Christmas story on Christmas Eve, secret Santa and Christmas stockings. ‘It’s full-on but it’s magic,’ we were told.
Money matters
Choristers and quiristers are awarded choral scholarships of 40 per cent of the full boarding fee. Means-tested bursaries sometimes available.
The last word
A stunning, distinctive and very caring school, Pilgrims’ combines a forward-thinking outlook with an incredible heritage and history, excellent academic results and breathtaking music. There’s something special here for almost every boy, especially for those who are bright, intellectually curious and eager to learn.
Special Education Needs
We offer one to one tuition for boys who have specific learning dificulties. 10-09
Condition | Provision for in school |
---|---|
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | |
Aspergers | |
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
Dyscalculia | Y |
Dysgraphia | |
Dyslexia | Y |
Dyspraxia | Y |
English as an additional language (EAL) | Y |
Genetic | |
Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
Has SEN unit or class | |
HI - Hearing Impairment | |
Hospital School | |
Mental health | Y |
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
PD - Physical Disability | |
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | Y |
VI - Visual Impairment |
The Good Schools Guide newsletter
Educational insight in your inbox. Sign up for our popular newsletters.