Uppingham School
Aiming for the Good, the True and the Beautiful
Founded in 1584, Uppingham School sits in the small Rutland market town from which it takes its name. Its modern identity was shaped substantially by Edward Thring, headmaster from 1853 to 1887, who was among the first in England to treat music as a central part of a boy's education rather than an extra, a legacy that remains genuinely woven through school life today.
Key Facts
Location : Uppingham, Rutland
Type : Co-educational, boarding and day
Age Range : 13 to 18
Pupil Numbers : Approx. 850 pupils
Founded : 1584
Values : Aiming for the good, the true and the beautiful
Academic Profile
In the Fourth Form, pupils at Uppingham experience the full range of subjects, before taking their GCSEs. The Sixth Form offers a wide choice of twenty-six A Levels, encouraging pupils to question and think deeply, and Old Uppinghamians proceed to Oxford and Cambridge, with pupils also choosing universities further afield.
Co-Curricular Life
Music at Uppingham has a depth of tradition rare even among schools known for the arts, the legacy of Edward Thring's belief in music for every pupil, supported by dedicated music schools and a teaching team drawn largely from professional musicians and conservatoire graduates. Drama is served by one of the largest school theatres in the country, a 300-seat auditorium with an adjoining black box studio, where pupils lead much of the lighting, sound, and staging themselves, and the visual arts flourish alongside. Sport is played across 65 acres of pitches and courts and a modern sports centre with a swimming pool, and the school's full boarding model gives house life an especially settled, consistent rhythm.
Admissions Essentials
Pupils join Uppingham School in the Fourth Form (Year 9), at age thirteen, with around 90 boys and 60 girls admitted each year, and further places available in the Lower Fifth (Year 10) and the Sixth Form. Families are encouraged to register well ahead of their child's intended entry point, with assessment requirements varying by year group. At Year 9 entry, scholarships are available across academic, music, art, textiles, design and technology, sport, and drama, alongside the Thring Award, a combined all-rounder scholarship offered only at this entry point.
In Essence
For a child who comes alive on a stage, with an instrument, or simply in conversation, Uppingham's enthusiasm for the performing arts and its settled full-boarding houses give them room to find that confidence early and keep building on it.