The Perse School recognised in UK’s top 100 independent senior schools for cricket
The Cricketer magazine, which has published its annual Schools Guide for 11 consecutive years, has acknowledged The Perse School, Cambridge in its esteemed list.
The 2026 Schools Guide ranks schools across Britain on the quality of their cricket facilities, coaching, fixture lists, and overall dedication to the sport.
Cricket is a major sporting focus at The Perse, with our performance pathway programmes providing year-round support for the School’s most gifted cricketers.
The Perse supports aspiring athletes across a wide range of sports, enabling pupils to fulfil their sporting potential while maintaining an outstanding academic education. The Perse Talented Athlete Programme is open to pupils from Year 10 upwards across all sporting disciplines. The programme supports pupils in their aspirations to train, compete and perform at a high level in their chosen sport.
For younger students, pupils in Years 8 and 9 have access to The Junior Academy, which is open to athletes across all sports. The Junior Academy focuses on developing strong athletic foundations, positive sporting behaviours, and a commitment to excellence, and acts as a pathway into the Talented Athlete Programme for pupils who demonstrate the potential to progress.
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The school has a history of producing first-class players who have gone on to play professionally, including Michael Pepper (2016), who has represented Essex CCC, England, London Spirit and Northern Superchargers, Zaman Akhter (2017) of Essex CCC and England Lions, and Nikhil Gorantla (2021) of Surrey CCC Bella Howarth of The Blaze / Northamptonshire CCC and May Busher of Cambridgeshire. Others have received invitations to leading sporting universities in the UK and further abroad, many on scholarships and other talent development pathways.
The Cricketer accolade comes after a fantastic year for those involved in cricket at The Perse, notably a fantastic Cricket Tour in Sri Lanka, students’ participation in the Oneus Village Cup at Lord’s alongside Foxton Granta Cricket Club, and our U13 girls’ team reaching the National Schools U13 Girls T20 Cup 2025.
We are delighted to see The Perse School, Cambridge included in this year’s Schools Guide. It is another wonderful recognition of our long-standing commitment to excellence in cricket and our vision to nurture and champion emerging cricketers at every stage of their development.