EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS
get myself back in some kind of order. In grounds, there is so much to deal with that is not in your control and this is something I have had to work hard on to accept. I have tried to become proactive in my approach to work, so that when things are sprung on you, or something changes, you have done all you can to be prepared for the unexpected. Covid blew all this out of the water, as it was never achievable to be on top of everything. What you do now can improve how things will be next year, and so can what you don’t do! For example, if the square plays badly next summer, no one will understand when I blame Covid - from eight months earlier.
I put far too much pressure on myself, which is something that I believe is common in the grounds industry.
What I also love about a school environment is the ecology side of things, which is a big passion of mine
How do you see the future panning out?
I’m genuinely really excited about the future. There is so much I want to achieve and I think I am in the right place to do it. I am feeling a lot more positive in myself and things are back on track. I really hope that we have a much more settled year and we can build on what we have started.
History
The Perse School was founded in 1615 by the will of Stephen Perse, M.D., a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. It was fi rst established in Lorteburn Lane, later called Free School Lane, to provide for 100 free scholars from all backgrounds. The original site is now the Whipple Museum of the History of Science.
The school quickly established its academic credentials, sending a regular fl ow of scholars to Caius College. During the 18th century, however, it fell into a long decline. The governors of the school, Caius College, neglected to increase the salaries of the Master and Usher for over a hundred years. Unsurprisingly, staff of talent were not attracted, nor were pupils. The posts became sinecures for junior fellows of Caius and the surplus endowment was pocketed by the senior fellows. This torpor and corruption was not uncommon at the time - Harrow and Rugby also nearly closed. Protests in the local paper forced the governors to keep the School open but it took a court case in 1837 to reform the College’s abuse of Perse’s Trust and to put the School back on a proper footing. In 1881 the complementary Perse School for Girls opened with funding from the town, the University and the Perse endowment.
A series of more energetic headmasters restored the fortunes of the school during the late 19th century and it moved into new buildings at Gonville Place in 1890. The experimental teaching methods of Headmaster W.H.D. Rouse (1902-28), notably the Direct Method of teaching foreign languages, attracted attention and talented teachers. The Perse established an international
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reputation in a matter of years, and Rouse also set up a Prep School and two boarding houses (including Hillel House, a Jewish boarding house). He also secured the ground on Hills Road on which he hoped to build a new school. The Upper School eventually moved to Hills Road in 1960 under the Headmastership of Stanley Stubbs (1945-69).
The Perse received grants from the government as early as Rouse’s time, in respect of its experimental language teaching. From 1945-1976 it was a Direct Grant school off ering free places to some 40% of pupils. Following the government’s withdrawal of the grant, The Perse became independent.
The Sixth Form began welcoming girls in 1995 and the school’s move to full co-education was completed in 2012. During this time The Perse School for Girls became a separate entity, evolving into The Stephen Perse Foundation, a diamond school group in Cambridge and Saff ron Walden.
The Perse celebrated its 400th anniversary in the academic year 2015/16.
The Times placed The Perse top of the league table of 193 independent co-ed schools’ I/GCSE results in 2019. This was the fourth time in recent years that The Perse achieved this feat which is testimony to the year-on-year success of Perse students in their I/GCSE and A level exams. In 2020, 93% of A level entries were awarded an A* or A grade (or the Pre U equivalent).
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