Frequently Asked Questions

It is in our DNA to give back.

Charity of the Year: Our Charities Coordinator works with our pupils to choose the school’s Charity of the Year (previous charities include The Wave Project, Jay’s Aim, Balloons). Our annual Charity Concert raises a significant amount of money, with last year’s raising over £4,000 from the concert alone.

Defibrillator: In 2023, we worked with local charity Jay’s Aim and GM Insurance Brokers to install the Cathedral Green’s first ever outdoor, publicly-accessible defibrillator, which is situated on one of the school’s walls. Its central location makes it one of Exeter’s most valuable, life-saving defibrillators. Click here to read the story.

Beach clean: At least once a year we gather staff, pupils and parents in our school community to do a beach clean on Exmouth Beach, with litter-picking bags kindly provided by Surfers Against Sewage. 

Food donations: Every week, we provide food for Exeter’s local homelessness charity, St Petrock’s, which usually equates to 1 large gastro – enough to feed approx. 30 adults. We have also run whole-school food collections during Harvest Festival for Foodbank.

As of Lent Term 2024, our current average class sizes are as follows:

• Nursery: 12 pupils per class
• Pre-Prep (Reception – Year 2): 16 pupils per class
• Prep (Years 3 – 8): 13 pupils per class

Exeter Cathedral School is nestled safely in the lee of Exeter Cathedral: 

Our Nursery and Pre-Prep School are in the Cathedral Close. 

Our Prep School is on Palace Gate, and other specialist departments are clustered in the North-West corner of the Cathedral Green. 

Exeter Cathedral School was founded in 1179 – the year of the school’s earliest written reference. 

Through teaching that is tailored to the individual, remarkable Common Entrance preparation, our Senior Enrichment Programme, our ECS Futures programme and utilising our fantastic relationships with the South West’s top senior schools to find the right school for each child.

We welcome children of all faiths and none: whatever one’s religious leanings, there is a spirituality to be found in collective stillness; in gathering together in quiet; in being mindful together.  

Click here to find out more about spiritual life at Exeter Cathedral School. 

Please see our Anti-Bullying Policy, which can be found here on our Policies page. 

Our current 2023/2024 gender split is 43% girls, 57% boys. 

Yes. Exeter Cathedral School employs a fully qualified Special Needs and/or Disability Coordinator (SENDCo) who supports staff in the early identification of a child’s needs and assists teachers in putting provision in place.

Click here to find out more about learning support at Exeter Cathedral School. 

Exeter Cathedral School is known throughout Exeter for its high-quality pastoral care. Our carefully structured pastoral care system, and the dedicated and highly skilled staff with key pastoral responsibilities, mean that pupil wellbeing and welfare is always top of our priority list.

Click here to find out more. 

We open at 07h30 for Early Club, and close at 18h30 once After-School Care has finished for the day. 

The school’s term dates can be found here. 

Yes. Exeter Cathedral School is the oldest school in Exeter, with the earliest written reference dating back to 1179. 

In 2014, Exeter Cathedral School became legally and financially separate from our friends and neighbours at Exeter Cathedral.