No, but we have shared history. Whilst we are two entirely separate and independent institutions, we at Stephen Perse Cambridge were the original Perse School For Girls founded in 1881, and The Perse School was the original boys' school. Both schools are now co-ed.

We are a forward-thinking, vibrant family of schools who reject the rigid, traditional stereotypes of private education. 

We are committed to academic excellence – but not through high academic pressure and narrow definitions of success. We instead foster a love of learning, critical thinking and intellectual curiosity. 

While we do have a high number of students attend Oxbridge each year, we measure our success not just by the destinations our students reach, but by the confidence, compassion, and individuality they carry with them into the world. 

We pride ourselves on a strong sense of community and are drivers of social mobility through our innovative bursary programme.

We are truly an independent school for the modern world.

Early Years and Junior School
In our Stephen Perse Cambridge Early Years and Junior School settings, through structured guidance and tailored exercises, our Thinking Toolkit encourages students to explore diverse perspectives, think outside the box, and embrace intellectual curiosity. Using this comprehensive framework for our curriculum, we ensure that every student develops the resilience and adaptability needed to excel in academic pursuits and real-world scenarios.

We encourage children to be active learners – to ask questions, to make mistakes and explore their interests and talents. Our approach is motivational, innovative, inspiring and highly creative. 

Senior School
The Stephen Perse Cambridge Senior School offers a broad and balanced curriculum, covering six fundamental areas: Creative and Performing Arts, Humanities, Language and Communication, Mathematics, Physical Education and Science.

Our passionate and experienced teachers deliver exceptional and motivating lessons that provide stretch and challenge within a supportive environment. Our curriculum approach is designed to cultivate independent thinkers equipped for their GCSE exams, but also in life beyond school. Our students develop and hone critical thinking skills, resilience, personal and social responsibility, all within a global perspective, supported by both traditional and cutting-edge teaching methods.

We offer (i)GCSE exams in certain subjects. 

Sixth Form
Our Stephen Perse Cambridge Sixth Form curriculum is rich and varied. Students study four or three A Levels and may supplement these core subjects with either the Extended Project to AS level or our own Stephen Perse Cambridge project as well as a host of enrichment options.

We do not offer the International Baccalaureate (IB). 

For more information on our curriculum, please contact us to discuss further or request a prospectus.

An important part of giving children every possible opportunity to discover more about themselves, their skills, interests, likes and dislikes, is providing a full and varied co-curricular programme. We have state-of-the-art sports facilities at all of our sites, as well as a dedicated sports ground and gym in central Cambridge, and have access to the River Cam for paddle boarding and kayaking at our Latham Close nature reserve. Our outdoor education department is really well resourced, teaching students archery, bushcraft and rock climbing, as well as the paddlesports.

Students in our Early Years and Junior Schools have forest school classes, and between ages 8-11 move on to our Expanding Horizons programme, which builds confidence outdoors and in nature on various adventure trips. 

For more information on our co-curricular programmes, please visit our individual school pages.

Absolutely, we strongly encourage this! The best way to see us in action is to visit our open days or coffee mornings, or alternatively, you can arrange a private tour of our schools. Details of open days and booking a tour can be found here. 

We offer a variety of convenient options for school travel including our own bus network which picks up students from local villages. Details can be found on our travel page.

Our exceptional pastoral care is second to none.

We have a comprehensive range of pastoral structures in place for all of our students when they need additional support – from School Nurses and Health and Wellbeing Practitioners, to our brilliant in-house School Counsellors and wellbeing dogs. All our students are known individually by our dedicated tutors and Heads of Year, ensuring that they receive support and guidance tailored to their individual needs. 

We believe the key to happy, relaxed and confident children and young people is the freedom to be themselves, to explore, learn, and develop without feeling the need to hide or curtail their enthusiasms to fit in or be cool.

Neurodiverse children thrive in our school.

We recognise that navigating a world largely designed for the neurotypical can present unique challenges. That’s why we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all education. Our exceptional Special Educational Needs (SEN) department works closely with families to deeply understand and assess each child's unique profile, ensuring the right scaffolding is in place from day one.

We view neurodiversity not as a deficit to be managed, but as a valuable lens through which to see the world. By adapting our environments, championing diverse learning styles, we ensure every student feels safe, valued, and empowered to achieve their full potential.

We have a long history as EdTech innovators, and are always looking at ways technology can benefit our students. We were early adopters of 1:1 iPad provision and remote meeting technology which The Times newspaper recognised when naming us East Anglia's Independent School of the Decade as we seamlessly transitioned temporarily to remote learning during the COVID pandemic.

We recognise the benefits to teaching and learning technology can bring to enhance and accelerate the learning process, and fully prepare our students for a rapidly evolving professional landscape. However, we are equally aware of concerns around children and screen time.

We have the perfect balance at our schools: we do not encourage smartphone use, instead we ensure we bring all the benefits of technology via our school-issued devices, where students are able to develop their learning and digital skills in a controlled environment with appropriate levels of access and rigorous safeguarding measures in place. Parents are able to fully control their child's device outside of school hours.

We use AI technologies in a controlled, responsible way.  Rather than replacing the human element, we use AI as a tailored learning assistant programmed by our teachers, accessing only our learning materials. This accelerates progress by adapting to the student's unique learning requirements.