The Perse School


The Perse School is a co-educational independent day 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 School 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 the leading 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 is provided by the Perse Prep, also 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 or IGCSE examinations and A-Levels.

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. In 1960, the school moved to the site it now occupies as its 'Upper' school on Hills Road. There have been multiple phases of school expansion, particularly in the 21st Century where the school doubled in pupil number. Among notable developments is the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre, a 400-seat theatre, exhibition and rehearsal space designed by architects Haworth Tompkins, which opened in 2018.
An old prospectus lists the fees as £3 per term in 1890.
From 1945-1976 it was a direct grant grammar school, offering free places to 40% of pupils. Following the abolition of the Assisted Places Scheme, The Perse no longer received any state funding and became independent.
The school is known for its high academic results and breadth of extra-curricular provision. It was ranked 13th in the Sunday Times Parent Power league table in 2019 and 6th in the Daily Telegraph national table of A Level, Pre-U and IB results with 83% A* and A grades from 175 candidates.

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.

Competitions, Olympiads and scholarships

Pupils have competed and scored highly in academic competitions and Olympiads, in addition to winning awards including Arkwright Engineering Scholarships and Nuffield Research Placements. Students have won scholarships for summer placements at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and research institutes in Heidelberg, Germany.
British competition results include:
Students have also competed in international competitions including the International Mathematical Olympiad, the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad, the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad, the International Biology Olympiad, the International Rocketry Challenge, the European Union Contest for Young Scientists and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

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 to launch a free beta version.

Developments

The Perse School began accepting girls at 11+ and 13+ in September 2010 and became fully co-educational in September 2012.

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 the opportunity to talk their way out of a punishment." The story was quickly picked up by the mainstream media who reported that pupils were "let off punishment for clever excuses".

Notable Perseans

Academia

Headmasters