Co-education at The Perse

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Philosophy

The Perse provides a high quality academic education with an emphasis on all round development. We achieve some of the best public exam results in the region and were ranked as the third best co-educational sixth form in the country by the Times in 2008. But our pupils also excel in sport, music, art, drama, outdoor pursuits, and many other activities. We want both boys and girls to have access to our high quality all round education, and are committed to equal opportunities for all.

In a world of equal opportunities where men and women have the same career aspirations and work alongside each other, it is sensible and natural for boys and girls to be educated together, learning to respect one another as individuals. Empathy, emotional intelligence, team working and co-operation are best fostered in an environment where boys and girls work together, and where the emphasis is on valuing the individual child. The Perse is also committed, through its Access to Excellence programme, to providing means-tested bursaries for talented pupils to attend the school irrespective of family income. Our diversity of pupil background and gender is a real strength, allowing pupils to benefit from a rounded education.

Experience of co-education

The Perse first admitted girls to the Sixth Form in 1995. This was followed in 1997 by the opening of the co-educational Pelican Nursery and Pre-Preparatory School. In 2005 the governors unanimously decided that the school should be open to boys and girls of all ages, completing the transition to full co-education. In 2007 the first girls joined the Prep and co-education has been a huge success there. In September 2010 the Upper School will admit both boys and girls in Year 7, Year 9 and Lower Sixth.

There are already 100 girls in the Upper School Sixth Form, and the school has both a Head Boy and a Head Girl. After nearly 15 years of co-education in the Sixth Form, all Perse Upper staff have experience of teaching both boys and girls.

Equal opportunities for all

We treat pupils as individuals. We have found that bright children, whether boys or girls, enjoy studying similar subjects, and we encourage each individual to do his or her best. We look beyond simplistic male/female stereotypes to understand each student as an individual.

All academic subjects are taught in co-educational groups. For some Physical Education and Games lessons, girls and boys are taught separately but have the same opportunities to excel. We have invested heavily in both our boys’ and girls’ sports’ programmes and standards are high.

Even in a co-educational environment, there are times when girls just want to be girls, and boys just want to be boys. On our 26 acre site, with its extensive new buildings, there is space for pupils to spend social time together and apart.

Family advantages

Whilst each child is different, there are considerable practical benefits to having siblings in the same school. One set of term dates, one fixture list and one school run can all make family life easier, particularly in Cambridge traffic!

The benefits of expansion

The Perse is already oversubscribed and we did not want to increase the pressure on places. So we decided to expand pupil numbers and increase the size of the Upper School from just under 700 to around 950 students. This growth will also generate economies of scale which will help to moderate future fee increases. As a combined group, the Pelican, Prep and Upper represent the largest independent school in Cambridge with the financial muscle needed to recruit the best staff and build high quality facilities.

Pastoral care

Happy children are successful children. Pastoral care at the Perse focuses on understanding and supporting each child. In a larger school, our strong pastoral care system will be even more important. The system is built around the form tutor, and for each form there are two tutors (often one male and one female). Each tutor looks after 12 or so students, providing daily pastoral care, support, guidance and encouragement to their tutees.

The Pastoral Care system for all pupils is overseen by Louise Playfair, Deputy Head (pupils).

Entry in 2010

2010 will be our first year of the expanded co-educational entry, and we will be offering about 100 places at Year 7 and around 50 at Year 9. This will produce four form groups at Year 7, and six form groups at Year 9 (four forms from Year 7 entry and two additional forms from Year 9 entry).

All forms will be mixed, and we will ensure that there is a critical mass of both boys and girls in each form or teaching group.

Admission is purely by merit. Those pupils who do best in our entrance tests and interviews will be offered places.

All our main feeder schools, both state and independent, are co-educational, so it is natural that interest in Year 7 and Year 9 places has been high. We already have large numbers of registrations for both boys and girls.

To find out more………

Please contact the admissions team on 01223 403805 or email admissions@perse.co.uk.

Or follow the links below:

Sport and Co-education

Co-Education FAQs