With a particular focus on outdoor learning, St Peter’s Prep is an unstuffy prep school that can bring out the strengths in children with a wide range of interests and abilities.

St Peter’s Prep is a place of fun and learning in a nurturing and caring environment with a focus on wholesome outdoor education. As well as providing a high quality education that prepares students for top UK senior schools, St Peter’s is focused on bringing out the best in all students, whether that is academic, sporty or creative. 

As a small school of under 300 students, and just two classes per year group, it has a wonderful family vibe and feels down-to-earth. With a great love of the outdoors, it has an adventurous spirit that combines time in the classroom with climbing trees, getting muddy and getting sand between your toes.

The location is enviable – 25 minutes from the cathedral city of Exeter, close to the coast, and a short drive to the moors. The school has a country house set within a 28-acre site in the very picturesque Lympstone, Devon, where children have broad open spaces to explore and play in. It’s an ideal setting for making plenty of happy prep school memories.

St Peter’s has a Nursery, Pre-prep, Lower School (Years 3-5 and Upper School (Years 6-8), and students come from a range of backgrounds, mostly British families living in Devon. The school was founded in 1882.

There’s a feeling of ambition for all students, but it is set within a caring and nurturing community. While St Peter’s is a non-selective school (which certainly contributes to its more relaxed learning environment), it has a strong track record of achievement. In 2021, 50% of Year 8 students sat the entrance exam at the highly selective Exeter School and all of them were offered places, with one achieving an Academic Scholarship. Other leavers secured senior school places at Wellingto College, Taunton School and Bluundell’s School, and 67% were awarded scholarships in academic, art, music and sports; it’s a true reflection of the wide range of students – and the equal support given to all.

There is a genuine emphasis on a healthy mind and body, and students follow the three Cs of Courtesy, Consideration and Common Sense. There’s also wraparound care from 8am to 6pm, all included in the fees, and working parents will love the flexibility of the school day.

Headteacher Charlotte Johnston wants learning to be enjoyable. As she says:

“I really believe that they learn best when they are happy and when they have a really wonderful relationship with their teachers.”

Curriculum

St Peter’s has developed a bespoke curriculum that works towards high standards of academic achievement while keeping learning ‘fun’. As a non-selective school, it is working with students of all abilities, and as a small school it can support those who need extra help and challenge the more gifted and able. It focuses on the “power of yet”, and not saying. I can’t do algebra’, but ‘I can’t do algebra, yet’.

In the Pre-prep, there’s specialist teachers in music, games, P.E. and French, as well as Beach School and Forest School sessions.

In the Lower and Upper School, students work towards achieving the school’s bespoke St Peter’s School Baccalaureate (SPB) Award. This is based on an enriched version of the National Curriculum for England and focused on preparing students for taking entrance exams for the ‘right’ senior school for them. 

The SPB is a forward-thinking, skills-based curriculum that sees your child studying all the core subjects, with plenty of specialist teaching in science, art & design, drama, English, games & PE, Geography, history, ICT, maths, music, PSHE, religion & philosophy, science. Languages are French and Spanish, and there’s a French immersion trip in Year 8 to really bring the language to life. Philosophy, mindfulness and drama have all recently been added to the curriculum, and computing has been added as a separate subject in Years 7 and 8. 

The SPB is certainly one of St Peter’s distinguishing features – and one of its strengths. It tracks and measures students’ achievements at regular intervals, taking into account both academic knowledge and skills such as leadership, citizenship, sport, art and effort. 

It means that students at St Peter’s can work their way through a personalised learning journey that doesn’t have some of the constraints of the Common Entrance; and it gives teachers more freedom to plan lessons that can embrace cross-curricular and project-based learning  

Sport and the arts

Sport and outdoor education are both a part of daily life at this school, and there are plenty of co-ed opportunities to learn and compete in team and individual sports. Both boys and girls are coached in rugby, hockey, football, cricket, swimming, and athletics, and girls also play netball – and it’s great to see all children being given the equal opportunity to try different sports.

A big focus of the inclusive PE programme is encouraging students to take part in competitive sport, and local and county matches are frequent. There are over 400 sports fixtures a year, as well as several community sports events. The most popular of these is the Harefield Cross Country run for all parents, staff and children – with the reward of a cream tea at the end!

There’s a strong choral tradition and, as well as four different choirs, students sing in various ensembles and bands. Drama productions range from large-scale shows such as a Midsummer Night’s Dream to more informal ‘teatime’ concerts. Once again, St Peter’s proves to be forward-thinking with its use of music technology and green screen technology in drama clubs and performances.

Beyond the classroom

When a school has a page on its website dedicated to Fresh Air, Woods, Mud, Sea & Sand, you know it’s going to be a campus where you’ll see students climbing trees, jumping waves and getting out whatever the weather; it makes for a fun, wholesome and very grounding prep school education.

As the school says: “Learning outside the classroom is a large part of life.

There’s a Friday afternoon activity programme where students may be learning to horse ride, sail, kayak or ringo on the Estuary. Other extra-curricular activities include instrumental and choral music, martial arts, dance, sailing, squash, athletics, rugby, football, hockey, cricket and wakeboarding. 

Students go on residentials from as young as Year 3, and there are lots of day trips for all year groups. There are also several community events on the calendar, involving parents (and grandparents) as much as possible.

Boarding

St Peter’s offers a flexi-boarding option, as well as weekly boarding, for children in Year 3 and above. There is one boarding house on campus with separate girls’ and boys’ dorms, each sleeping up to eight boarders. And there’s a fun schedule of activities, with something different planned for each evening and throughout the weekends.

Campus and facilities

It’s a school that feels very rural – and loves being so. The school has beautiful views and natural surroundings, and the students really appreciate it all. 

Outdoor facilities include two adventure playgrounds, swimming pool, Astro pitches for hockey, tennis and netball, four rugby pitches, two cricket pitches, woodland, a pond and forest school.

There’s a mix of historic buildings and some more recent modern additions that come together to offer a well-resourced education in some beautiful countryside.

Admission and fees

St Peter’s requires all new students to attend a taster day, during which they are assessed. Scholarships are offered for Years 7 and 8 for outstanding academic; art and design; music; performing arts and sporting ability.

Annual tuition fees start at £8.580 and rise to £14,625 for Year 8.

Our view

Good for: St Peter’s is a good choice for families who want to avoid the pressure-cooker environment of some London prep schools. It offers children of all abilities an incredibly happy atmosphere and it’s a school where you can expect your child to leave with plenty of fond memories of learning both within the classroom and in the great outdoors. It’s good for an excellent all-round education and, with its 100% success rate of entry to chosen senior schools, parents can feel confident that their child will leave St Peter’s to find the perfect fit for them.

Not for: As it’s a standalone prep, there’s no automatic transition to a senior school – so your child will have to go through the process of sitting entrance exams. The rural location may feel too remote for parents searching for a city school and, while the school offers boarding, this is much of a day school.

Are you looking for a place for your child, and want help from our school consultants? If so, click on the link below, and we will forward your request for information to the school or schools of the same type that we are confident have availability. This is a free service for our readers. Request Information