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Public school in Cambridge, England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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| The Perse School | |
|---|---|
The school's coat of arms | |
| Address | |
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, , CB2 8QF England | |
| Coordinates | 52°10′51″N 00°08′19″E |
| Information | |
| Type | Public school Private day school |
| Motto | Latin: Qui facit per alium facit per se (He who does things for others does them for himself) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Nondenominational Christian |
| Established | 1615 |
| Founder | Stephen Perse |
| Department for Education URN | 110923 Tables |
| Chairman of the Governing Body | Jonathan W Scott |
| Head | Edward Elliott |
| Staff | 138 teaching, 117 support staff, 26 peripatetics[1] |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 3 to 18 |
| Enrolment | 1,564 (2016) [2] |
| Houses | 8[3] |
| Colour(s) | Purple and black |
| Publication | OP News Magazine |
| Alumni | Old Perseans |
| Website | http://www.perse.co.uk/ |
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.
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.[4] 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.[5] 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,[6] which opened in 2018.
An old prospectus lists the fees as £3 per term in 1890.[7]
From 1945 to 1976 it was a direct grant grammar school, offering free places to 40% of pupils.[8] 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[9] and 6th in the Daily Telegraph national table[10] 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.[11]
In 2015, two boys from the school were convicted of stealing items found at Auschwitz while on a school trip. [12]
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.[13]
Pupils have competed and scored highly in academic competitions and Olympiads, in addition to winning awards including Arkwright Engineering Scholarships[14][15] and Nuffield Research Placements (previously Nuffield Science Bursaries).[16][17] Students have won scholarships for summer placements at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel[18][19] and research institutes in Heidelberg, Germany.[20][21]
British competition results include:
Students have also competed in international competitions including the International Mathematical Olympiad,[32] the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad,[33] the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad,[33] the Romanian Master of Mathematics competition,[33] the International Biology Olympiad,[34] the International Olympiad in Informatics,[35] the International Linguistics Olympiad,[36] the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics,[37] the International Rocketry Challenge,[38][39] the European Union Contest for Young Scientists[40] and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.[41]
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[42] to launch a free beta version.
Since 2020, The Perse School Cambridge International (TPSCI) has liaised with partners to open up The Perse international schools outside of England. Currently, two international schools have been set up, namely The Perse School Singapore (opened in Jan 2020) and The Perse School Suzhou in China (opened in Sep 2021).[43]
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".[44] The story was quickly picked up by the mainstream media[45] who reported that pupils were "let off punishment for clever excuses".[46]
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