St John's College School

Since 2016, Neil Chippington MA (Cantab) FRCO, previously head of St Paul’s Cathedral School. An organ scholar, he read music at Gonville and Caius. After brief employment as organist at Cranleigh, he turned to teaching – first at Winchester for seventeen years and then at St Paul’s, from 2009 to 2016. Affectionately called ‘Mr Chips’ by some parents, he is seen by some as a bit of a star. Others, however, were more hesitant to share their views.

We met him in his office which, like the rest of the school, is well-used, a bit cluttered and homely. He told us he holds a ‘passionate belief that children will thrive and do well if they have a really good pastoral, nurturing and caring support network within the school’. As such, he has continued to develop the school’s E4L (Emotions for Learning) scheme – ensuring that emotional literacy underpins ‘everything’ they do and is embedded into teaching and learning. ‘If you push academic pressure too far, too fast, what you do is switch off children,’ he believes. Parents say he ‘has good firm in the face of pressure from parents who might push the school to be more academic’. Indeed, he insists his approach is not ‘anti-intellectual’ and that he wants ‘to instil in children that working hard and being curious is fun’.

A former chorister himself (Winchester Cathedral) and currently chair of the Choir Schools’ Association, he is steeped in the cathedral/choral tradition and all it offers for the ‘naturally musical, bright child’. His wife, Leisle, also teaches at the school and they have two sons, both educated at St John’s. He is a keen cyclist and runner and regularly takes part in half marathons and triathlons for charity. He attends evensong at St John’s as often as possible – ‘It is always a great pleasure.’ He lives next door to the boarding house with his family. Leaving in summer 2025.

From September 2025, new head will be Sarah Wright, currently principal deputy head at Haberdashers’ Girls’ School. Prior to that, she was head of the junior school. She studied geography and education at Homerton College, Cambridge, where her master’s was in enquiry based learning. She was captain of the university netball team, for which she was awarded three blues. Married, with twin children.

Gently selective, with most joining age 4+ via taster day. From year 3, children do a half-day trial including informal English and maths assessments, with school looking for potential over results. For 11+, there are formal English and maths assessments, plus interview with the director of studies. Two-form entry expands to three classes from year 3 (and occasionally year 2).

Admission for choristers is at 8+, based on vocal trial. Usually a maximum of five places; all board. St John’s College Director of Music offers to informally hear children at 6+ to give an indication of a child’s prospects.

Some leave at 11+, usually for local state schools, but vast majority exit at 13+ for independent schools. In 2024 most headed to The Leys and King's Ely. Others went to Eton, Gresham’s, Haileybury, King’s Canterbury, Harrow, Perse Upper, Stephen Perse Foundation, Sancton Wood, St Mary’s Cambridge, Heathersett Academy, Culford, St Christopher and Oundle. Overall, around a third to boarding. Parents feel ‘supported’ in their decisions, with the school giving ‘tailored advice’ on a pupil-to-pupil basis – some wish there was a linked senior school. In 2024, 22 scholarships.

Twenty spots automatically go to the choristers for whom boarding is obligatory. They join another 20 or so, mostly older, pupils. Weekly/flexi boarding available for the latter. Whilst age 8 is clearly young to fully board, parents of choristers often attend evensong and are able to drop in the house afterwards to eat with their children – and, at weekends, choristers can see their families after Saturday morning rehearsals. They have a ‘truly amazing experience’, we heard, with particular praise for the community feel: ‘Everyone looks after each other.’

Dorms in Boarding House are clean and homely, with excellent views – the children love it. Some parents reported a bit of staff turnover when it comes to head of the boarding house, but all are hoping the newly appointed one will stay. Deputy head of house, who has been in post for several years, was himself a chorister at St John’s and it’s clear he’s proud to be back at his old school.

The house has been adapted and decorated in a beach-hut-chic style – lots of pale wood, dazzling white walls (painted each year), tip-top bathrooms and spacious carpeted landings. Bedrooms are four or six bedded, boys and girls on separate floors though mixed downstairs. A recreation room with snooker, table football, squashy seating and a television for (rare) off-duty moments. Lovely un-institutional kitchen with whopping table round which entire choir can squash for toast and hot drinks after evensong. Meals are eaten in the school dining room. Staff all very aware of helping pupils, especially choristers, pace themselves. ‘If one seems particularly tired towards the end of term, I may keep them off games and let them have a catch-up sleep.’ Only a few, but strictly kept, rules – no child to enter another dorm, no mobile phones in the boarding house at all and no tuck. This last deprivation is ‘tough, but pupils take it in their stride. They understand the reason behind it.’ Houseparents are loved by their charges and parents alike – ‘They really care for the children and will always go the extra mile.’ There is a small, quiet room where a child can rest if ill and is waiting to be collected. No off-putting dirty kit or socks anywhere, everything spick and span, a haven to return to.

Means-tested bursaries available, with the school currently supporting several children with refugee status. However, the head says awards rarely reach 100 per cent and points out that all bursaries are subject to annual renewal. Attempting to raise £15 million, school hopes to grow and diversify this bursary programme. Choristers get 10 per cent fee remittance automatically as part of their scholarship from St John’s College, Cambridge, which can be supplemented by a bursary depending on financial circumstances.

The school is split into two main sites: Byron House for ages 4-9 and Senior House for ages 9-13. With 460 pupils in total, it is large by prep standards. Each house feels quite separate and with its own character. Byron House has the more lived-in, calm environment, with a lovely woodland area used for learning, plus dedicated allotments for the younger years to grow plants. Senior House feels (and, in places, smells) more like a bustling secondary school. The entrance, with chorister gowns and caps hanging on the walls, resembles an Oxbridge antechapel, which is complemented by a tidy arrangement of buildings surrounding a quad. Both sites have good facilities and are kept clean.

Parents say the school achieves its excellent results with a less pressurised environment than at some of the local competition. ‘It’s not Perse Prep and doesn’t try to be,’ they told us. One, who also considered the excellent local state schools, said they chose St John’s because of the ‘access to music’, ‘breadth of curriculum’ and ‘specialist teaching’ – the latter kicking off in from nursery for drama, dance, music and French from nursery, with art and DT added from year 3 and every subject by year 5. Besides French, some children get the chance to study German and Spanish as part of Thursday enrichment at Senior House – but the school admits this isn’t guaranteed. Latin for all from year 5. Setting in maths in year 4 and in languages from year 5. STEM taken seriously, with impressive, well-resourced labs in Senior House. Ditto for the library, a truly magical space with a wonderful collection of books and a colourful sofa.

Sixteen per cent of children are on the SEND register, with just over 10 per cent entitled to 25 per cent extra time in exams. Seven EHCPs when we visited. The school is able to complete in-house assessments for dyslexia and a few other conditions – at an extra charge. One parent said it ‘was done really quickly’. One-on-one support offered for those who need it, with a dedicated intervention space – also, at an extra charge. Intervention room is smaller than a usual classroom and there are dedicated teaching assistants for children who need it. Nineteen children were being supported for EAL when we visited.

With calming music playing in the art classroom, students in the Senior House were thoroughly engaged with the paintings they were creating. In Byron House, the little ones were excited to show off their Easter bonnets. The DT teacher was particularly bubbly and enthusiastic about her subject and the amazing work which her students produced – particularly the electronic mini-Ferris wheels.

Head of drama is well thought of. Each year group puts on a big annual (usually quite high-brow) performance, incorporating music and dance. Parents very ‘impressed’ by the effort the school puts into achieving the high quality. There was lots of chatter among students about the recent production of Joseph, which we heard was a big hit with parents and children alike.

‘Extraordinary’ music, say parents – ‘and that is excluding the choir’. Over 70 per cent learn an instrument or singing, most lessons take place in the dedicated sound-proof practice rooms bravely located next to the so-called quiet garden. Groups for saxophone, jazz, cello, clarinet, harp, violin, and composition, to name a few. There are also choirs that children can join. School puts on approximately 60 concerts a year, including less formal lunchtime concerts for the students.

The school was founded in the 17th century to educate the choristers in the choir of St John’s College, University of Cambridge, and these choristers – boys and girls aged 8 and over, numbering around 20 in total – still form a big part of the school’s DNA. They practise from 7.30am to 9am and again after school until evensong at 6.30pm in the college chapel. The choristers told us their day-to-day life is ‘intense but amazing’. They form a very close bond working together and have an experience which parents describe as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.

School has an indoor swimming pool and dedicated sports hall. Parents described the sports facilities as ‘amazing’ and said that PE lessons were ‘great’. Plenty of extracurricular sporting opportunities too, including rugby, rowing and swimming. Some girls wish they could play rugby – currently boys only. Some of the clubs, like rowing, are oversubscribed with a long waiting list and places are not guaranteed. Clubs get good take-up, both at lunchtimes and after school, the musical and sports ones most popular – but there’s also game programming, debating and eco committee, to name a few.

Numerous trips, including to local botanic gardens and the Cambridge Buddhist centre. All children at Senior House get the chance to go on residential trips during ‘Trip Week’. Some of these are ‘staycations’ and some go to centres in the UK, and a few abroad. There are also annual ski trips for the older years, as well as annually alternating trips to Pompei and Iceland.

Lunch is excellent, with the kind of tasty health-conscious food of which parents approve. Even nicer was that young students at Byron House willingly came to sit next to us and tell us all about the best bits of their day. Staggered sittings in Senior House due to a small canteen. Children ‘praise Richard the chef all the time’, say parents, some of whom clearly feel they need to up their game at home! School uniform is traditional and smart, though not cheap, say parents. Some parent volunteers run a second-hand uniform shop.

Parents say the school suits all personalities, including ‘eccentric children with character’, as one put it. They told us the school is ‘caring’, and ‘community and family minded’ – even ‘magical’. But some felt it could be more inclusive, especially for children with SEND. Comments were also made expressing concerns about the quality of medical care offered by the school. Head responded that ‘we want to include children as far as we can’, adding that ‘sometimes it gets difficult when we talk about reasonable adjustments’.

Overall, behaviour is good. Some mild disruption in Senior House lessons on our visit, but everyone was fully engaged in Byron House. Very few accounts of bullying, which parents tell us is dealt with swiftly and severely. Some students feel some of the ‘punishments are unfair’, eg for not having your hair tied back (school website claims this is for ‘practical and safety reasons’). Detentions, though rare in practice, appear to be the main deterrent, with children we spoke to particularly fearful of the ‘water jug detention’ which involves serving water in the canteen to the other students. We wondered if it was rather humiliating – ‘I think that’s the point!’ said one emphatically.

While ownership of the school buildings by St John’s College means the school gets to celebrate a fruitful relationship with the prestigious Cambridge college, there are restrictions which bother some parents – children are only allowed to use certain parts of their playing fields, and only at certain times, for instance. We spoke to some younger members of St John’s College who believe that it is ‘elitist’ that the college should own a school at all – somewhat ironic coming from a top Cambridge college.

The school’s location on a leafy road in Cambridge is idyllic but take note that it’s shared with another prep, with pick-up and drop-off described by some parents as ‘bumper to bumper Land Rovers’ and ‘like Mad Max but with posh mums’. Parent body is increasingly dual income, and most are local, driving or cycling their children to school.