Stowe School
Persto et Praesto
Founded in 1923, Stowe School is a co-educational boarding and day school set within the world-famous landscape gardens of Stowe, among the temples and monuments now cared for by the National Trust. At the heart of a historic eighteenth-century house, it combines real academic ambition with an education built on confidence and character, encouraging intellectual curiosity, independence of thought, and a readiness to make a difference in the wider world.
Key Facts
Location : Buckingham, Buckinghamshire
Type : Co-educational, boarding and day
Age Range : 13 to 18
Pupil Numbers : Approx. 900 pupils
Founded : 1923
Motto : Persto et Praesto ("I Stand Firm and I Stand First")
Academic Profile
In the Third Form, pupils at Stowe explore a wide range of subjects before choosing their GCSEs. In the Sixth Form they study A Levels, and Old Stoics proceed to Oxford and Cambridge, alongside Russell Group universities including UCL, with dedicated support for those applying in medicine.
Co-Curricular Life
The performing and creative arts have a strong presence at Stowe, with drama and concerts staged in the Roxburgh Hall, music taught in the Chung Music School, and science and design supported by the Worsley Science Centre and the Howden Design, Technology and Engineering Centre. Sport is played across a remarkable range, from the traditional games of rugby, hockey, cricket, netball, and lacrosse to country pursuits such as polo, sailing, clay pigeon shooting, and golf, the last supported by the school's own Golf Academy and an Equestrian Centre. The gardens themselves, with their lakes, temples, and open parkland, give pupils an extraordinary setting for outdoor life, alongside an annual Arts Festival and a full programme of clubs and societies.
Admissions Essentials
Pupils join Stowe mainly at 13+, into the Third Form, and at 16+, into the Sixth Form, with a small number of places at 14+. The school assesses candidates at 13+ through a private visit and interviews, a cognitive assessment test, or an English language assessment test where English is not the pupil's first language, and a reference from their current school, rather than through Common Entrance. Sixth Form entry is based on interview, a school reference, and GCSE results. Families are encouraged to register in good time, as places are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Scholarships are available across academic, music, drama, art, and sport, together with the all-round Roxburgh Scholarship.
In Essence
For a pupil who will value the freedom to think for themselves, Stowe encourages intellectual curiosity and independence of mind, sets real academic ambition alongside a remarkable range of opportunity, and prepares each one to become resilient, responsible, and ready for the world.