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Our View
There’s a great sense of community at King’s Ely, with a generous championing of one another that means pupils are in the perfect environment to find, own and pursue their passions. And as one of the oldest schools in the world and with the stunning Ely Cathedral at its heart, pupils also get a unique sense of grounding as they regularly file into the cathedral for assemblies, services, and choristers’ choir practice. Indeed, the school is brilliant at embedding strong values and helping pupils understand what it is to be human – and with the prep on the same site and nursery and pre-prep five minutes’ walk away, it offers an all-through option which is hard to beat.
Where?
King’s Ely sits in the shadow of the cathedral in the centre of Ely, which is the second smallest city in the country and as pretty as a picture with a lovely waterfront and the fens surrounding it. The school’s 75-acre grounds are home to some amazing architecture, from the beautifully restored medieval Monastic Barn where pupils climb an ancient winding staircase to the dining hall to the Old Palace, a 15th-century Tudor building once home to the bishops of Ely and now the most impressive sixth-form centre we’ve ever seen. Cambridge is around 45 minutes by car and a 20-minute train ride away – the station is a five-minute walk and some 250 pupils come in on the train. There are also 14 minibus routes that fan out as far afield as Newmarket.
Head
Principal John Attwater took up the post in 2019 and ever since has directed his sharp intelligence (hidden behind a wonderfully laidback demeanour) towards honing the school’s offering to ensure it gives all its pupils the best foundation for life. He’s proud of the vibrant and diverse community (there are 40 different nationalities) and constantly amazed by the range of talents pupils show. A former chorister himself, he started his career at Wells Cathedral School and was formerly head of King Edward’s School, Witley.
Admissions
Selective from reception onwards, most children in the prep school gain automatic access, and make up around 90 to 100 of the Year 9 intake with approximately 30 new pupils joining alongside them. Scholarships are available in Year 9 and Year 12 for academics, art, music, STEM, drama and sport, including rowing and dance.
Academics and destinations
Although the school caters for the top 50 per cent of the academic range, this is no hothouse. Children are taught to be reflective learners and own their own academic journey. Every transition to the next stage – both academically and pastorally – is managed really well and no one gets left behind. Any pupil who needs extra support is catered for, their strengths identified and things put in place to minimise barriers and maximise success. There’s a new focus in every subject on debating to allow pupils to grow their confidence and communication skills, plus a Round Table enrichment lecture programme for scholars, with all pupils welcome to attend.
At GCSE, pupils can pick from 23 subjects; D&T has recently been split into 3D design and engineering and both are proving very popular. Top students are stretched in Years 10 and 11 with an HPQ, while the uptake of EPQs in Year 12 is over 50 per cent. An impressive 28 subjects ranging from film studies to computer science are on offer at A-level and sixth formers also do the King’s Ely Diploma which is based around the school’s core values.
The aforementioned sixth-form centre is an incredible space with classrooms, refectory, common rooms, gym and accommodation. Leavers regularly head off to some 50 different UK destinations, including Russell Group universities, Oxbridge, conservatoires, filmmaking schools and art and design colleges.
Co-curricular
There’s a great attitude to co-curricular at the school, with the aim of getting every pupil involved as much as possible, and two strands – participation/fun and talent/performance – creating a superbly positive culture.
Consequently, when it comes to sport, there’s no traditional playbook, with pupils offered a choice of what they do right from Year 9 – ‘No one is going to be forced to do netball or rugby if they really don’t want to,’ the school tells us. As children move up the school, the choices expand with Year 11s onwards being offered everything from basketball and clay-pigeon shooting to Zumba and bouldering. Everyone joins in, including staff, some of whom run the individual sports options. Rowing is the school’s hottest sport: it’s a quick five-minute walk to the boathouse and King’s Ely excels on the river, consistently bringing home most of the silverware. The school also offers masterclasses in various other sports for those pupils who want to develop their skills – the aim is for everyone to find their niche and represent the school.
King’s Ely is also renowned for its excellence in music. The arts quad where the Gibson Music School is situated has a laid-back, bohemian feel and here you’ll find the sixth-form music scholars pursuing their passion. Like sport though, music is as inclusive as possible with the house song competition as celebrated as the invitation-only barbershop quartet the King’s Barbers – who happen to also do a sideline at weddings.
The art department is superbly equipped too with specialist teachers for all disciplines, including fine art, sculpture, textiles and photography. It’s an inspiring space and we were impressed by the creativity of the work on display, especially the textile design pieces and photography (the school has its own studio and film processing facilities). Pupils’ work is frequently exhibited locally and in London, and last year the school bagged first prize in the National Fashion & Textiles Awards.
The Year 9s have timetabled drama and many choose it as an option subsequently. The whole-school production is a real highlight of the year with everyone getting involved and dedicating their time to rehearsals after school and at the weekends.
Some 120 clubs mean pupils have ample opportunity to find and follow their passions. Ancient Greek, Mandarin, Da Vinci (engineering) club and Avicenna (the medics society) are among the more academic clubs, with a vast number of sports and musical options on offer too. Ely Scheme is the school’s own version of CCF which sees children testing themselves on assault courses, problem-solving tasks, survival challenges and expeditions. Sixth-formers can train to be an instructor and many plan and lead the sessions. DofE is available from Year 10 and is hugely popular with many pupils going on to complete their gold award.
Boarding
There’s a large boarding cohort of 200 and a real family feel that runs deep. Most of the boarders are sixth-formers, with around 15 per cent of international students who come for age-specific short courses, including a one-year iGCSE programme in Year 11. Many stay on for sixth form and one of the girls’ sixth-form boarding houses we visited had 15 different nationalities represented, from as far and wide as Brazil, Hong Kong and Germany, lending a wonderfully cosmopolitan feel.
School community
Pastoral care is taken very seriously with a network of support and very approachable staff. Form tutors, school counsellors, trained SEN (all pupils are screened by the learning support team on entry) and medical staff all offer touchpoints if children need to talk to someone. Inter-year relationships thrive – it’s common to find a wide age range of pupils working together on a show, reading together or playing sports. The school is big on creating leadership opportunities and many of the upper sixth students play a role in keeping the school running smoothly and heading off problems early. They also canvas pupils for ideas, so everyone really has a voice, and Monday assemblies see different houses giving meaningful services twice a year.
Parents are a mixed, down-to-earth bunch of everyone from farmers to tech specialists. There’s a lot of diversity, with 40 different nationalities represented in the school.
And finally....
There’s a huge amount to recommend this all-through school, not least its beautiful setting. But under the bonnet, it’s the strong sense of family that really impresses, giving pupils the perfect environment to grow and blossom in.