School Information
Founded in 1875, The Leys School is Cambridge’s only co-educational
boarding school for children aged 11-18. Unusually for a city school, it is
situated within a leafy 50-acre campus, close to the banks of the River
Cam, yet only a 10 minute walk from the buzz of the city centre. Our ethos
is simple – to provide an excellent, all-round education for our pupils,
combining the traditional values of tolerance, respect and decency with a
forward-looking and collaborative approach to teaching and learning.
Our unique location; the Cambridge experience
The University of Cambridge provides the kind of enrichment opportunities
most schools can only dream of. Links with the University are strong and we
take full advantage of this; we host world-renowned speakers in our Great
Hall and attend academic lectures within university departments. Our chapel
choir regularly joins forces with the College choirs, singing in some of the most
stunning College chapels in the world. We share ouraward-winning boathouse
with three university colleges and compete in many of their sporting fixtures.
Our superb location truly does offer a world of exceptional opportunities.
Academic life
Through the provision of a broad and balanced curriculum Leys pupils
develop into articulate, confident and well-rounded individuals. Their
timetables are tailored to their aptitudes, needs and interests. As pupils
move up through the School they take on increased responsibility for
planning their workloads, with support from a co-ordinated tutorial
system. Class sizes are small and the School’s academic results reflect the
expertise, vitality and enthusiasm of its teachers.
Beyond the classroom
Pupils at The Leys are encouraged to take part in as many wider curricular
activities as they can realistically manage. Over 100 clubs, societies and
groups take place every week. 26 sports are offered from athletics to
water polo, alongside CCF, Duke of Edinburgh and Community Service
groups. The opportunities for outdoor pursuits are endless and, combined
with first class performance facilities, the School exudes an air of
purposefulness and busyness.
Support and well-being
The Leys is a close-knit community, based on mutual respect and shared
values. Its backbone is the house system where our pupils are assured of a
supportive and caring environment. Their well-being is at the heart of what
The Leys stands for; it is a happy, inspiring and unique place.
Joining The Leys
Girls and boys join The Leys in Years 7, 9 and 12 and may either sit the
School’s own tests, obtain places via pre-assessment in Year 7 or apply
for one of a range of scholarships, bursaries or exhibitions. To find out
what makes The Leys such a special place contact the Admissions Team to
arrange a visit.
“Both my children are happy at The Leys and the support they receive is brilliant. We couldn’t ask
for more!” – Parent quote from 2019 New-Joiners research
Scholarships and Bursaries
Student Profile
“I started boarding at the age of 11, having moved from Nepal.
Olly, 17, full boarder in his second year at A level:Address
Open on Google Maps- Address Trumpington Road
- Borough Cambridge
- Zip/Postal Code CB2 7AD
- Phone: +44 (0)1223 508904
- Fax: +44 (0)1223 505303
- Email: admissions@theleys.net
- Website: www.theleys.net
News
Army Officer Scholarship for Harry
For immediate release Army Officer Scholarship for Harry Over the summer break, Year 13 pupil Harry CB received the news that he has been awarded a prestigious Army Officer Scholarship from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. This will provide financial support for the completion of his A Level and university studies, and a guaranteed place
The Leys GCSE Results 2023
On Thursday 24 August, the 2023 cohort of Year 11 pupils at The Leys received news of another outstanding set of GCSE results. Almost 75% of all grades received were 9, 8 or 7, nearly 54% were graded 9 or 8, and just over 1 in 4 were graded 9, the highest mark
The Leys A Level Results 2023
On Thursday 17 August, staff and pupils at The Leys celebrated an outstanding set of A Level results. This year, just short of 80% of grades achieved were at A*-B (up on 2022) and more than 54% were graded A*-A (again, up on 2022). Reflecting on the disruption that this year group went through during
The Leys Drama Scholar, Amira A, returns to Netflix drama
The Leys Sixth Form Drama Scholar, Amira A, returns to Emmy-nominated Netflix drama ‘Bridgerton’ for Season 3. Amira was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to take a non-speaking role in Season 2 of ‘Bridgerton’, the Emmy-nominated Netflix drama based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling romance series. This summer she had the privilege of filming
Leys Debate Team Win Regional Competition
On Saturday 23 April, a team of Sixth Form pupils from The Leys School, Cambridge were named regional winners of this year’s ‘Youth Speaks’, the Rotary Club Youth Public Speaking competition. The winning team comprised of Ellie M, Sienna H and Georgia D who are currently studying for their A Levels. The girls were required
First ‘Giving Day’ at The Leys a Resounding Success
On 23-24 March 2022, staff and pupils at The Leys School, Cambridge held their first ‘Giving Day’, raising more than £25,000 for school bursaries, and almost £5,000 for chosen charities beyond the School. The day included a programme of events designed to bring the school community together such as bake sales, cupcakes at lunch and
The Leys team wins international space experiment competition
Young scientists Martin P-S and Caleb S (Year 11) have won the international Mission Space Lab European Astro Pi Challenge 2020-21. Martin, Caleb and their friend Daniel (from The Perse) formed Team Magrix, one of 10 winning teams from across Europe who created scientific experiments that ran on two Astro Pi computers onboard the International
The Leys’ Alexander becomes an Arkwright Scholar
Alexander Hoppe, a Lower Sixth Form at The Leys School, Cambridge, has been awarded a prestigious Arkwright Scholarship. The award, now in its 30th year, recognises young talents and supports their career ambitions in the fields of engineering, computing or technical design. He will receive £600 for materials and projects and be assigned a mentor
Cutting-edge technology adds extra dimension to Geography lessons
Exciting new technology to enhance the teaching of Geography has been incorporated into classrooms at The Leys over the summer. The greatly enhanced Geography Department was officially opened by Mike Hulme, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Cambridge, in the presence of the current Leysian family whose generosity made the innovations possible, on
The Leys student named the Best Spanish Student in the UK
Victoria Reid (U6) has been named the Best Spanish Student in the UK in a competition organised by the Spanish Embassy Education Office in the UK. She was nominated for the award, sponsored by the Department of Culture and Tourism of La Junta de Castilla y León, by the Spanish Department at The Leys because
The Leys 24-hour Gym-A-Thon
It is known that young men can find it hard to “open up” because of stereotypes of male behaviour, which is why seven sixth form boys at The Leys, Cambridge, organised a fundraiser to benefit the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust. Charlie, a highflyer with apparently everything to live for, took his life in 1997. The
Exciting prospects for rising sports stars
Three outstanding young sportspeople to have come to prominence during their time at The Leys School, Cambridge, have been selected for development programmes designed to take them on to greater things. Cricketer Issy R outledge (U6), pictured, has been selected for the Sunrisers Cricket Performance Programme at Academy Level for the coming season. The London
LIT Radio is launched by The Leys pupils
LIT Radio, a podcast developed by Sixth Form pupils at The Leys School to provide academic enrichment when Covid-19 regulations make it difficult to have visiting lecturers and discussion groups in school, has just been launched. The first episode went out on Friday 13th November. It is being released on Apple Podcasts, making it possible
The Leys duo sail to success
Two Year 10 pupils from The Leys, Cambridge have been selected to join the Royal Yacht Association’s eastern region training squad. This sets them on course for possible selection for UK Sailing’s Youth Squads and, beyond that, Olympic Development programme. Dominic Atherton and George Macfadyen will take part in a series of two-day training camps
Linguist at The Leys given Dresden Scholarship
An Upper Sixth student at The Leys was awarded the prestigious Dresden Trust scholarship 2020, which took her on a four-week cultural and educational visit to this historic German city. Immy Cheney commented on her visit: “Much of my visit was spent tracing the impacts of the war and evidence of reconciliation. I continue to be
Ollie Feast Trust and The Leys boosts Red Hen Project
The Ollie Feast Trust, in conjunction with The Leys, has provided sports packs to help families supported by the Red Hen Project. Since 2016, the annual four-day Ollie Feast Activity Camp has taken place every July at The Leys School in Cambridge. The Ollie Feast Trust, set up by Ollie’s father, Steve, was developed as
Miss Mac runs and raises £5K for Cambridge charity
Alyson MacPherson, Housemistress at The Leys School, has raised over £5k for the Red Hen Project by running non-stop round the school field from 8am to 8pm. Alyson MacPherson, Housemistress at The Leys School, has raised over £5k for the Red Hen Project. Starting at 8am on Friday 8 May and finishing at 8pm the
The Leys’ F1 team wins regional awards
A team of budding motorsport engineers from The Leys have won two trophies at the regional finals of the F1 in Schools Team Mach 4 competition. Alex H was the team manager and CAD Design Engineer, with Miles K as the design engineer. Toby G was CAM manufacture engineer and Bobby R played a key
Designer from The Leys attends Buckingham Palace event
A designer at The Leys School, Cambridge had the honour of attending the presentation of the £1 million Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering 2019 at Buckingham Palace. Jack Jiang, who is in the school’s Sixth Form, designed the trophy for the event. The prize, regarded as the world’s most prestigious engineering accolade, was awarded to
The Leys named Sunday Times Parent Power East Anglia Independent Secondary School of the Year
The Leys School, Cambridge, has been named The Sunday Times Parent Power East Anglia Independent Secondary School of the Year. The annual Sunday Times schools guide, Parent Power, lists the 2,000 highest-achieving schools in the UK, based on exam results. Alastair McCall, editor of The Sunday Times Schools Guide, Parent Power, said: “A stellar year
Leys musicians perform at Saffron Hall
The Leys School’s musical ensembles have recently made their bow at the prestigious Saffron Hall. The school’s various music groups performed their End of Year concert at the venue, with the jazz band ‘Big Noise’ opening the show, followed by an eclectic range of musical genres. Max Kenworthy, director of music, closed the concert by
The Leys learns about democracy at the school ballot box
Pupils took part in a mock election on Thursday, May 7, the day of the General Election. Five groups of Year 9 pupils represented the five main UK-wide political parties – Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green and UKIP. They drew lots to see which party they would campaign for, and were each helped by a
The Leys Host Unique West End Workshop
Unique West End theatre workshop for pupils 1/12/2014 Twenty pupils from Year 11 and the Lower Sixth took part in a four-day course run by Tony-Award-winning West End and Broadway producer Steven M Levy (an Old Leysian) at the Charing Cross Theatre in conjunction with the Drama department at The Leys. The insights and inspiration
The Leys School’s GCSE Results
Year 11 pupils and staff at The Leys School were celebrating on Thursday as 100% of pupils have gained at least 5 A*-C grades. Including Maths and English, as many national guidelines require, this statistic remained at an unblemished 100%. Four pupils scored 10 or more A*s and nearly one third of the year-group scored
The Leys School’s A Level Results
With 93 pupils taking the exams this year, The Leys achieved a 99.3 per cent pass rate, with 91 per cent gaining grades A*-C. Headmaster, Martin Priestley, said: “I warmly congratulate our pupils and their teachers on another fine set of A Level results. Last year (2013), our brightest pupils performed particularly well, securing the
The Leys Visited by Prince Edward to Open Great Hall!
The Earl of Wessex visited The Leys, Cambridge (January 23rd, 2014) to open the school’s £9.5 million performing arts and science Centre, Great Hall. The Cambridge University-educated Earl, well-known for his interest in the performing arts, was the guest of the school’s new headmaster, Martin Priestley. Mr Priestley and the Head Boy and Head Girl,
The Leys Pupils Inspired by World Famous Mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles
Prof Sir Andrew Wiles, arguably the world’s most famous mathematician, talked about how he proved Fermat’s Last Theorem when he delivered the inaugural Leys Lecture at the Great Hall Festival (November 11-15) at The Leys, Cambridge – his alma mater. Sir Andrew was just 10 years old when he took up the challenge of proving
The Leys Brush up on their Shakespeare with Michael Pennington
The Leys School, Cambridge, was privileged to have distinguished Shakespearean actor Michael Pennington as the first professional actor to “tread the boards” of its new £9.5 million Performing Arts Centre, Great Hall. He performed his acclaimed one-man show about William Shakespeare, Sweet William, at the opening of the Great Hall Festival, a celebration of performing
The Leys, Cambridge winning portrait
Chelsey Bishop (U6) has won first prize in the Anteros East Anglian Schools Portrait competition, which was open to all schools in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Her untitled work, a portrait of her grandmother (pictured) will be exhibited at the Anteros Arts Centre in Norwich until January 12. Three other sixth-formers from The Leys: Flora
The Leys, Cambridge appoints new Head Master
Martin Priestley, currently Headmaster of Warminster School in Wiltshire, has been appointed as successor to Mark Slater, who is retiring after almost a decade as Headmaster of The Leys. Mr Slater, who will leave in January 2014, said: “These years have been the most fulfilling of my professional life, and The Leys will always occupy
The Leys, Cambridge County Champions
The Leys Under-14s Boys Hockey team have won the County Cup, winning all their group matches before beating local rivals The Perse School in the final. They were a goal down with eight minutes to play but clinched a 2-1 win. The team, captained by Henry Blunt, convincingly beat Thomas Deacon Academy, Saffron Walden High
Leys Cambridge Brilliant Brass
Onyx Brass, the internationally acclaimed brass ensemble, gave a bravura Lunchtime Live recital at The Leys. Torbjorn Hulmark (trumpet), Alan Thomas (trumpet), Andrew Sutton (horn), Amos Miller (trombone) and Dave Gordon Shute (tuba), play serious yet approachable music for brass. They often commission new music and are very active and experienced in music education. As
Leys Cambridge Maraton Man’s Charity challenge
Matt Pullen, Head of Grounds at The Leys, has completed 12 marathons in 12 days, making 2012 a year of extraordinary feats in aid of charity. Matt (pictured right, fourth from the left, and below) and a team of three other recreational runners each ran a total distance of 314.4 miles as they made their
Leys Cambridge Ex students Alex and Will in RBS Six Nations
Two Old Leysians will represent their country in international Rugby in the coming weeks. Alex Goode (24), pictured right, has retained his place in the England squad for the RBS Six Nations Rugby tournament, which starts next month. He played impressively in the autumn internationals when he took the place of injured full-back Ben Foden
