The Perse School

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The Perse School is a private school (English fee-charging day and, in the case of the Perse, a former boarding school) in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1615 by Stephen Perse, its motto is Qui facit per alium facit per se, taken to mean 'He who does things for others does them for himself'. The Perse School took girls for Sixth form only from 1994, began accepting girls at 11 and 13+ in September 2010 and was fully co-educational by September 2012. 'Perse' is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an association of UK independent schools.

The organisation now comprises three schools, which together provide for children aged 3 through to 18. The Pelican is the Perse's nursery and pre-preparatory school, and accommodates pupils from 3–7. It is situated on Glebe Road, close to the main school site. Preparatory education for students aged 7 to 11 years old is provided by the Perse Prep, which is located close to the Upper School, just north of the junction of Long Road and Trumpington Road. In Year 7 pupils usually progress to the Upper School, where they sit GCSE examinations and A-Levels.

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History

The school was founded in 1615 at its original site in Free School Lane, Cambridge. Its former buildings now house the Whipple Museum of the History of Science.<ref>The original Perse School (now the Whipple Museum)</ref> In 1890 it moved to a site on the corner of Gonville Place and Hills Road, in 1960 moving to the site it now occupies as its 'Upper' school on Hills Road.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There have been multiple phases of expansion, particularly in the 21st century. Among notable developments is the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre, a 400-seat theatre, exhibition and rehearsal space designed by architects Haworth Tompkins,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which opened in 2018.

An old prospectus lists the fees as £3 per term in 1890.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

From 1945 to 1976 it was a direct grant grammar school, offering free places to 40% of pupils.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following the abolition of the Assisted Places Scheme, The Perse no longer received any state funding and became independent.

The school was ranked 13th in the Sunday Times Parent Power league table in 2019<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 6th in the Daily Telegraph national table<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> of A Level, Pre-U and IB results with 83% A* and A grades from 175 candidates. In 2021, The Sunday Times also named The Perse School as the top independent secondary school in East Anglia, as the school had the best performance in the GCE A Level Examinations in the region.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2015, two boys from the school were convicted of stealing items found at Auschwitz while on a school trip. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Motto

The school motto is Qui facit per alium facit per se, usually taken to mean "He who does things for others does them for himself". This is an example of a rebus motto, the Latin sentence ending in a word play on the founder's name "per se" and his benefaction. A blue plaque dedicated to the school's founder, Dr Stephen Perse, was installed in Free School Lane, Cambridge.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Competitions, Olympiads and scholarships

Pupils have competed and scored highly in academic competitions and Olympiads, in addition to winning awards including Arkwright Engineering Scholarships<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Nuffield Research Placements (previously Nuffield Science Bursaries).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Students have won scholarships for summer placements at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and research institutes in Heidelberg, Germany.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

British competition results include:

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  • Invitation to the British Physics Olympiad presentation afternoon (top 4 in the country in the AS Challenge)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Qualifying for Round 2 (top 20 to 25 in the country) of the UK Chemistry Olympiad<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Students have also competed in international competitions including the International Mathematical Olympiad,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad,<ref name="BMO News 2022">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad,<ref name="BMO News 2022" /> the Romanian Master of Mathematics competition,<ref name="BMO News 2022" /> the International Biology Olympiad,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the International Olympiad in Informatics,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the International Linguistics Olympiad,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the International Rocketry Challenge,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the European Union Contest for Young Scientists<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Innovation

In 2018, The Perse School partnered with a Cambridge-based education technology entrepreneur, Rob Percival, to support the creation of an online artificial intelligence maths teaching platform. Blutick in association with The Perse School, exhibited at the BETT Show in London, 2019<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to launch a free beta version.

Developments

Since 2020, The Perse School Cambridge International (TPSCI) has liaised with partners to open up The Perse international schools outside of England. Currently, one international school has been set up in Singapore, namely The Perse School Singapore (officially opened in January 2025). <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Headmaster's blog

On his blog the headmaster, Ed Elliott, described his 'ten second challenge' in which he would give students who "commit occasional minor misdemeanours (such as forgetting a book) the opportunity to talk their way out of a punishment".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The story was quickly picked up by the mainstream media<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> who reported that pupils were "let off punishment for clever excuses".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Notable alumni

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Academia

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Engineering

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Sport

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  • Alex Coles, Northamption Saints rugby union player<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Staff

Headmasters

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Haileybury.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> AGBIS board member.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Author of the biography Thring of Uppingham: Victorian Educator<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Mr Edward C. Elliott, MA - 2008 onwards. Joined the school in 1997 as head of sixth form and was senior deputy head before being appointed headmaster<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Notable staff

References

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