Exeter Cathedral School

Since 2016, James Featherstone. Previously head of lower school at Perse School, Cambridge. Studied French and Spanish at Durham, followed by a PGCE. The son of a headmaster growing up on site in schools, most formatively Radley, he has an intuitive

Non-selective entry to nursery (now from age 3 not rising 3) and pre-prep, with 80 per cent of nursery children moving into the school, forming half of the reception intake. Additional places available throughout prep, with a bulge at year 4 to

A handful head off to local grammar schools at 11+. Rest leave at 13+ to independent schools with strong support and advice on choice. Recently, most have gone on to Exeter School and Wellington School. Others to Blundell’s, Downside, Sherborne,

No longer offers boarding.

Choristerships are worth 25 per cent off tuition fees. Awards and scholarships (including a fully-funded place) are available in year 7 in visual/performing arts, academic, drama, music and sport.

This is a 12th-century school with 21st-century vision. Proud of its choir school heritage, its soul is surrounded by music but its sights are focused on a modern, inclusive and dynamic approach. One of only 44 choral schools in the UK, it is the

A warm, enveloping family of a school where pupils are, in the words of one parent but echoed by many, ‘allowed to be individuals, encouraged to be true to themselves and helped to flourish in whatever they find a passion for’.