St Paul's School

Overview

St Paul's School originally takes its name from St Paul's Cathedral in London and was founded by John Colet, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral. The original school, which stood in St Paul's Churchyard, was destroyed with the Cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and the school is currently located on a 45 acre (182,000 m²) riverside site at Barnes, adjacent to Hammersmith Bridge, in West London. The boys' school numbered 856 boys in 2009, the 500th year of its foundation. An ambitious total rebuilding of the school at its present site is planned, to be completed over a 25 year period. It has recently opened its state of the art science wing. The school still maintains a boarding house and there are strong boarding house traditions, including the annual bonfire and two hours of compulsory study known as "prep" every evening. A large number of music concerts, art exhibitions and plays take place each year, and pupils regularly receive national recognition for their achievements. The school also has a strong sports department; St Paul's was a founding member of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. There is also a large boathouse, and extensive playing fields which consist of 11 football or rugby pitches during the winter months, or seven cricket pitches during the summer months.

Unique Points

St Paul's was the largest school in England at its foundation, and its High Master had a salary of 13 shillings and sixpence weekly, which was double that of the contemporary Head Master of Eton College. It was also the first English school to teach Greek. According to its position in the national tables of GCSE and A level performance, and with one of the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rates of any secondary school or college in Britain, St. Paul's is considered one of the leading schools in the country. In 2005, St Paul's obtained (for the second year running) the best overall placing in the boys' school GCSE exam league tables published nationally, and was also the leading boys' school in the A level results tables. 60 of its leavers went to Oxford or Cambridge, which was also the highest proportion achieved by any boys' school in the country. In 2012 at A level, 89.0% of the grades were A* or A. Many sporting clubs are affiliated to the Old Pauline Club (through which old boys keep in touch), such as the Old Pauline Football Club (OPFC), which is the oldest old boys’ rugby club in the world.

Entry Requirements

Registration for 13+ entry opens four years before the boy will be admitted to the school. Applicants will be called for interview between January and November two years prior to entry. Offers are conditional upon gaining at least 70% in all Common Entrance subjects. Overseas applicants must be educated at a school which offers the UK Common Entrance syllabus for a minimum of two years prior to entry. 16+ entry depends on an entrance examination and interviews, and offers will be conditional upon GCSE (or equivalent) results.