Browse Somerset schools by age

 Set within 40 acres of Somerset countryside near Frome, All Hallows School occupies the Grade II* listed Cranmore Hall, offering a genuinely 'home-from-home' education for children from nursery to Year 8. Founded as a boys' school in 1938 and co-educational since 1971, All Hallows is now part of the Monkton Family of Schools, with happiness and wellbeing placed firmly at the heart of everything it does. A nine-acre Forest School, state-of-the-art astro turf and a warm boarding house with log fires in the hall combine to nurture resilient, reflective children - around 65% of recent leavers have gone on to win a senior school scholarship or award. 

 Chard School occupies Grade II* listed buildings on the site of the historic Chard Grammar School, offering a close-knit education for children aged 4-11 in the heart of South Somerset. Established in its current independent form in 1972, but tracing its educational roots back to 1671, Chard blends small classes and specialist teaching with genuine pastoral warmth, believing academic success flows from a happy, confident child. Leavers typically head to Devon grammar schools or well-known independent options including Queen's College and King's College, Taunton. A relaxed, friendly school where children are given the space to discover who they are. 

 Hazlegrove Preparatory School occupies 200 acres of Somerset parkland at Sparkford, forming part of the same foundation as King's School, Bruton. Created in 1947 when the junior department of King's Bruton moved into Hazlegrove House, the school today welcomes children aged 2-13, with around a third of Years 3 to 8 boarding full-time. Hazlegrove is committed above all to 'celebrating childhood', pairing a hands-on, curious curriculum with genuinely exceptional pastoral care. Leavers have gone on to Eton, Winchester, Sherborne, Radley and Millfield among others. 

 The Paragon School occupies a beautiful Georgian house a mile from the centre of Bath, offering a broad, creative education for around 250 children aged 3-11. As the junior school of Prior Park College, Paragon shares access to its senior school's outstanding science, sporting and creative facilities, while its own eight acres of gardens and woodland support a strong outdoor-learning ethos. Children join one of four houses - Abbey, Crescent, Holburne and Milsom - from Year 3, and around 85% of leavers progress naturally to Prior Park. A joyful, family-feel school proving that strong preparation for senior school needn't come at the expense of childhood fun. 

 Perrott Hill School occupies a historic 28-acre estate on the Somerset-Dorset border, offering day and boarding places for children aged 3-13 under the motto "time and space for a full education." A proper country prep in every sense, Perrott Hill combines rich, carefree childhood experiences with genuinely impressive Common Entrance and scholarship results - 32 awards from 62 leavers over the past two years alone. Pupils play games five days a week and enjoy an enviable range of extra-curricular pursuits, from equine studies to Forest School, before moving on to senior schools including King's Bruton, Blundell's, Sherborne and Bryanston. 

 Springmead School is a small, award-winning co-educational prep school in the Somerset village of Beckington near Frome, welcoming children from 6 months-11. Character development sits at the heart of school life through 'The Springmead Way', a whole-school ethos built around kindness, respect and active listening, modelled daily by staff and pupils alike. Rated "Excellent" at its most recent inspection, Springmead has been recognised nationally for innovation in Early Years provision, with its Little Crickets nursery highly commended by the Independent Schools Association. A genuinely nurturing school where character and confidence grow hand in hand with academic progress. 

 Bath Academy is a small, independent sixth-form college occupying three buildings around Bath's historic Queen Square, offering GCSE, A-level and retake courses for students aged 14-19. Classes never exceed eight students and average just three or four, allowing tutors to focus closely on how each individual thinks and learns rather than simply what they know. Non-selective and genuinely personalised, Bath Academy specialises in helping students move from what it calls a "felt minus to a felt plus," with a one-to-one personal tutor system supporting every step towards university. A refreshingly different, tutorial-style education in the heart of one of England's most beautiful cities. 

 Founded in 1606 by Benedictine monks in exile in Douai, France, Downside School moved to its present Somerset home at Stratton-on-the-Fosse in 1814, following a remarkable 154-mile walk from Shropshire. Today it educates around 350 to 420 pupils aged 11-18, having become fully co-educational in 2005, with six houses named for the community's martyrs and benefactors. Downside pairs a strong academic record, particularly in maths and science, with genuine sporting pedigree in rugby and hockey, and a distinctive musical tradition led by its Schola Cantorum choir. A school where four centuries of Benedictine character now sit comfortably alongside a thoroughly contemporary outlook. 

 Founded in 1552 under laws passed by Henry VIII to replace the monastic grammar school once run by Bath Abbey, King Edward's School has held a special place in the city for over four and a half centuries. Now an independent co-educational day school for pupils aged 3-18, KES was named The Sunday Times South West Independent School of the Year in 2026 and rated 'Excellent' in every category by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. 

 Founded in 1880 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard as King Alfred's School, King's College Taunton is a member of the Woodard Corporation, offering a co-educational day and boarding education for pupils aged 2-18 across two beautiful Somerset sites. The school's Junior division, King's College Prep, has been based at Pyrland Hall, a Georgian mansion on the edge of the Quantock Hills, since 1952, while King's became fully co-educational in 1991. With extensive facilities including two heated swimming pools, a dedicated equestrian centre and a Leiths-accredited cookery school, King's blends genuine wonder and excitement with the highest standards of courtesy and academic ambition. 

Founded in 1519 by Richard FitzJames, Bishop of London, King's School, Bruton is one of the oldest schools in the country, having operated continuously since the Dissolution of the Monasteries with a Re-Foundation Charter granted by Edward VI. Today King's Bruton educates around 350 pupils aged 13-18, the majority full boarders, forming part of a foundation that also includes Hazlegrove Prep School. The school celebrated its 500th anniversary in 2019 with a visit from Her Majesty The Queen, who opened its new music school. A small, historic school genuinely booming in the twenty-first century. One parent described: "It is wonderfully under the radar and all the better for it." 

 Founded by John Wesley in 1748, Kingswood School is the world's oldest Methodist educational institution, moving to its current 218-acre site overlooking Bath in 1851. Today Kingswood educates over 1,000 pupils aged 9 months-18, having admitted girls from 1972 and now welcoming pupils of all denominations alongside its Methodist foundation. Creativity, kindness and respect for scholarship remain the school's defining values, alongside strong academic outcomes and a proud musical tradition through the Kingswood Jazz Orchestra. A school that has quietly shaped Methodist education around the world while remaining warmly rooted in its own Somerset hillside. 

 Jack "Boss" Meyer founded Millfield in 1935, returning from India with six princes among his first pupils; today it is the largest co-educational boarding school in the UK, with around 1,330 pupils aged 13-18 from 75 countries. One of the first independent schools to become co-educational, back in 1939, Millfield remains devoted to Meyer's founding philosophy - nurturing whatever talent a young person has, whatever form it takes. With 28 sports on offer, an Olympic-sized pool and a school represented at every Olympic Games since 1956, Millfield genuinely helps every pupil, as its own language puts it, "discover their brilliance." 

 An entire Somerset valley village belongs to Monkton Combe School, founded in 1868 by the Reverend Francis Pocock to educate the sons of Christian missionaries and now just two miles from Bath. Having become fully co-educational in 1992 through its merger with Clarendon School for Girls, the school today educates pupils aged 2-18 with a strong evangelical Christian heritage, six boarding houses, and an enviable rowing tradition that has produced six Olympic medallists. Woven through every part of school life is a commitment to confidence, integrity, humility and service - because at Monkton, school is understood as the beginning, not the destination, of life. 

 A Grade I listed Palladian mansion built for Ralph Allen in 1742 forms the heart of Prior Park College, overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath from 57 acres of National Trust gardens shaped by Alexander Pope and Capability Brown. Established in 1830 as England's first Catholic seminary, Prior Park is now a co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 11-18, having recently redefined itself as "a Christian school in the Catholic tradition" to better reflect its increasingly diverse community. Described as: "confident in its Catholic values, happy in its own skin," Prior Park combines genuine academic rigour with creativity, culture and a strong sense of belonging. 

 The oldest school in Taunton, Queen's College began life in 1843 as the West of England Wesleyan Proprietary Grammar School, founded by local Methodists, and adopted its present name in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Today it is a thriving day and boarding school for pupils aged 3-18, still part of the Methodist Schools' Group, with a broad curriculum spanning Mandarin to Model United Nations. Consistently excellent examination results sit alongside outstanding pastoral support in what the school describes as a relaxed family atmosphere - traditional values, genuinely combined with the demands of a modern education. 

 The Girls' Day School Trust's only boarding school, Royal High School Bath was formed in 1998 through the merger of the Royal School (founded 1864) and Bath High School (founded 1875). Educating girls aged 3-18, Royal High is known for exceptional academic results - 68% of GCSE grades were awarded at 9-7 in 2025 - and a genuine culture of bravery and ambition, underpinned by its renowned Steinway Music School. From September 2026, the school adopts a new middle-school structure across Years 5 to 13, designed to strengthen confidence and connection at every stage of a Royal High education. 

 Quakers established the first school at Winscombe in 1699, and Sidcot School reopened at its present Mendip Hills site in 1808, becoming one of the very first co-educational boarding schools in the country. Today Sidcot educates around 500 pupils aged 3-18, the majority not themselves Quakers, but all embraced by the Society of Friends' testimonies of truth, integrity, equality and simplicity. Described by parents and pupils alike as "welcoming, warm, nurturing and inspiring," Sidcot combines a calm, reflective weekly Meeting with genuinely excellent facilities, including an equestrian centre and dedicated Wellbeing Centre.