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Our view of St Faith's
In the race for best prep school in Cambridge, St Faith’s is a front-runner. With stellar academics – STEM provision in particular is incredible – plus sporting, musical and artistic prowess, no wonder parents can’t stop raving: 90 per cent of enquiries come from enthusiastic word of mouth, while parental demand has led to the opening of a new three and above pre-school class. For innovative and engaged teaching, with a strong focus on the importance of tech, St Faith’s is a cut above.
Where is St Faith's School?
The historic university city of Cambridge is rapidly becoming a world-leading FinTech and bio-tech hub. St Faith’s is on the outskirts (which makes traffic more manageable), on one of the main arterial routes into the city centre. Founded in 1884 and initially made up of four large Victorian houses, the school now has various purpose-built add-ons across nine acres of land (plus there are a further 25 acres of sports grounds a few minutes’ walk away).
The spectacular space-age £2m STEM hub – which has a glass-roof observatory, two telescopes and virtual reality headsets for pupils to study astronomy – is used for science, maths, computing, engineering, art and design.
Around 25 per cent of pupils cycle to school, which is encouraged. There are also two dedicated school bus services that pick pupils up from various locations between Royston, Saffron Walden and Cambridge.
Head of St Faith's
Crispin Hyde-Dunn took up the headship at St Faith's in 2021 and has wasted no time in introducing the concept of Tailored ÍÑ¿ã°É, which is the antithesis of the usual one-size-fits-all approach. There is a deliberately broad curriculum here, with pupils given choice wherever possible to encourage active learning and taught active listening skills.
The very academic Dr Hyde-Dunn (he’s got a PhD in art history) was previously head of The Dragon in Oxford and Abingdon Prep School, so he is well versed in running a high-achieving prep. He’s rightly proud of the school and the pupils’ achievements but knows a good school is more than its results; a sense of belonging is just as important. He’s gone above and beyond meeting and greeting at the school gate to create a strong bond with parents, setting up a fabulous breakfast club that around 80 families attend every morning, ‘international afternoons’ where parents set up stalls to showcase the more than 30 cultures represented at the school, and myriad coffee mornings, scavenger hunts and sports events. Unsurprisingly, he’s well liked – for his acuity and energy, as well as for his charming manner.
Admissions process at St Faith's School
Unlike many prep schools, there is an almost 50:50 balance of girls and boys. The main entry points are at reception, Years 3 and Year 7, and the new pre-school class – launching fully in January 2026 – will welcome children from the half term or term after their third birthday.
Three and four-year-olds come in for a play session assessment, while the older children will sit tests in maths, English, spelling and creative writing. Register as early as possible for 4+ entry, because places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and demand is currently very high. In other year groups, the application deadline is 30 November in the year before entry.
Many children come from professional, academic and high-ability, high-achieving families based in Cambridge and the city’s wider surroundings; there’s also a steady stream of London exiles joining the school roll.
Academics and senior school destinations
St Faith’s stands head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to
STEM, which has been embedded in the syllabus for years (we hear that it receives frequent feedback from senior schools on the benefits). The school is leading the way with engineering as a core curriculum subject from Year 3.
Rather brilliantly, St Faith’s has also pioneered national training courses for teachers that bring together what children have already learnt in maths, science and computing. Computing is a key subject and subject specialists at St Faith’s have created a wide-ranging computing syllabus for all age groups. Pupils start to learn programming from age seven, so they are all fluent by the time they leave, and are taught robotics from Year 5.
The school curriculum isn't based around
Common Entrance, which frees up the timetable; staff teach ‘top-down excellence’, meaning they plan lessons for the highest ability of the class, not the middle as is more usual practice. Pupils have embraced this change and academic standards have risen. For those that do struggle to find their feet, extra help is always on hand, with subject ‘surgeries’ held during lunch breaks. Personalised learning starts from reception, where support and extension tasks are used to tailor the learning to the individual (extension tasks kick in from reception and setting from Year 5), which helps pupils become active learners and develop flexible, creative minds.
Rather than an iPad for every child, state-of-the-art classrooms have large interactive screens and computers that rise up from the desks when required. The thinking is that this is less distracting for younger ones and they can type using a proper keyboard. Younger pupils have access to a shared bank of iPads, and pupils in Years 7 and 8 use one-to-one devices. The school's digital learning vision is for pupils to learn how to exploit technology to enhance their learning, communication and creativity.
Languages are strong: Spanish is taught from reception, French from Year 5 and classics from Year 7. In the Lent term of Year 8, pupils embark on a six-week language carousel, which may include languages such as Italian, German and ancient Greek. During the school’s enrichment week, Years 7 and 8 jet off to Spain or Italy to level up their language skills and glean cultural knowledge.
About 90 per cent of the children get into their next school of choice and, as the Cambridge market is almost as competitive as London, this is impressive. Around half of pupils go to
The Leys (down the road and part of the same foundation – pupils can sit a bespoke maths and English assessment in Year 6 to secure a Year 9 place), the rest to other sought-after Cambridge schools (The Perse, Stephen Perse and St Mary’s) and
boarding schools such as Felsted, Framlingham and Oundle (around 10 to 15 per cent).
Co-curricular at St Faith's
St Faith’s School has invested heavily in sports coaches to ensure that all teams, not just those at the top, are taught by first-rate staff. And it is really paying off: the school regularly reaches national and regional finals – they compete nationally in hockey and gymnastics (the school’s gymnastics club is renowned) and regionally for rugby and cricket. Swimming takes place at The Leys – and for any pupils looking to experience the authentic Cambridge pastime, rowing is available from Year 6.
When it comes to the arts, the school is top-notch. About 60% of pupils learn at least one musical instrument and there are ensembles and choirs to hone performance skills. The main choir has 120 pupils, and their annual tour to Liverpool, during which they sing in both the Cathedral and Alderhay Hospital, is a particularly popular trip. Pupils in Years 5 to 8 also borrow the university’s music facilities for practice sessions and concerts. Drama is a priority here too, with two large productions every year, plus a range of smaller performances. Art is likewise impressive: the school boasts specialist teachers as well as a bespoke art and design curriculum that includes ceramics, sculpture and printmaking. Pupils are rightly excited about their talent, with many entering work into the city’s regular art competitions or displaying it in local galleries.
One of the most in-demand clubs on offer (with both pupils and parents) is the Goblins, where boys and girls design, build and race electric go-karts called green goblins as part of a national competition.
St Faith's School community
This is a wonderfully unpretentious, friendly school. And despite the impressive results, there’s absolutely no sense whatsoever of it being pushy. St Faith’s has 20 different mother-tongue languages and a large number of pupils are bilingual (some trilingual), making for a rich, multicultural mix.
Inclusivity is a key tenet of the school, with all Year 8 pupils becoming prefects and given some form of responsibility – there is no single head boy or girl. Other opportunities for leadership include positions on the school council, eco committee and role-specific prefects with a focus on different areas of the curriculum. Kindness certificates are handed out to children who demonstrate good manners and courtesy. In Years 3 to 8, everyone is allocated one of four houses, and between the teachers, tutors and heads of house, any issues that arise can be sorted out.
An excellent learning support department has three full-time
SEN teachers and two learning support assistants. There are formal ties with four local primary schools, one nursing home and one sheltered accommodation, plus it’s a lead school in the network of computing excellence, working with 20 schools to develop their IT infrastructure.
Over the past 17 years, St Faith’s has also partnered with a township school in South Africa, where it has built up pupil numbers and introduced initiatives such as a hot-food programme to ensure the children are fed before they go home. Year 7 and 8 students visit every other year, playing sport, music and joining in with lessons.
As a day school, there’s a strong sense of community here – and parents are hugely supportive, loyal and involved with the school. Tellingly, around 10 per cent of the parent body were once students here themselves.
And finally...
Excellent in all departments, this Cambridge prep has holistic education down to a tee, from academics, to co-curricular, to pastoral care. In a fast-paced, fast-changing world, St Faith’s School, like the city of Cambridge itself, stays at the cutting edge, always tweaking and revamping its curriculum to ensure pupils get the best in class.