Hereford Cathedral School

Since 2021, Dr Michael Gray, BA, MA, PhD. Joined from Harrow School where he spent eight years, starting as a politics teacher, then head of politics and finally becoming director of studies. Prior to that he taught history and politics at Halliford

At 11+ external candidates are examined in English, maths and VR; all are interviewed. Unless there is a particular cause for uncertainty children from the junior school, or pupils join late in year 5 or 6, they are offered a place without taking

Most pupils stay on for the sixth form although a few may depart post-GCSEs – either for a change or else to study subjects not offered by school. Places are generally filled by those coming in the opposite direction. Majority to university for a

In 2024, 55 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 51 per cent A*/A at A level (75 per cent A*-B).

Hooray for the new digital strategy! Not what we were expecting to hear quite so frequently from staff and parents alike. Dr Gray and his team seem not only to have got all the technology running smoothly, but also everyone on board and enthusiastic.

Parents told us that SEN and study support had been an area in need of improvement, ‘The handover from junior to senior school wasn’t as good as it could be and teachers didn’t always know about individual children’s needs, but that has changed for

Drama is a popular GCSE option and over 100 pupils take LAMDA lessons. Year 7s put on a Shakespeare play annually in the Old Deanery Garden, there’s a junior play for years 8 and 9 and major annual production (a musical every other year) for years 10

Combination of city location and flood-prone riverside playing fields is clearly sub-optimal, but there’s a large sports hall on site and full programme of matches against the likes of Monmouth School, Cheltenham Ladies’, Malvern and Cheltenham

Well, this was a first – the prelude to lunch with the boarders was a 20-minute minibus ride into deepest rural Herefordshire. School’s impressive new boarding house, a former hotel, is on the edge of the village of How Caple. Apparently, boarders’

‘Pastoral care is at the heart of what we do,’ says Dr Gray and he has implemented a much more joined-up approach which sees form tutors working closely with heads of year, school counsellor, medical centre and parents. School counsellor is available

All sorts, lots of different backgrounds, ‘normal working people.’ Many travel in from Welsh borders, Leominster, Ledbury and surrounding villages – school bus service covers a wide area. Tradition is important, school’s Christian ethos is made

Regarded as ‘good value’, by parents. Academic scholarships worth 15 per cent of fees available at 11+, 13+ and 16+. Other scholarships worth 10 per cent of fees for music, sports and all-rounders (also for art and drama at 13+ and 16+). A number of

Always a popular choice for its small classes, friendly atmosphere and exceptional music, HCS has recently leapfrogged ahead via skillful deployment of technology and new teaching strategies. Building on strong academic and pastoral foundations,