THE MOVE TO CO-EDUCATION

We are delighted to announce that SWPS will open its doors to boys from September 2026.  This will be a phased introduction, with boys initially joining Years 7 and 12, with the School becoming fully co-educational by 2030.  

The decision to educate both boys and girls is rooted in our long-term strategic desire to enable any child who would flourish at Sir William Perkins’s School to be able to come here.

Sir William Perkins’s School has always championed the individual, encouraging every student so that they can embrace the challenges of a fast-moving world with curiosity, ambition, and generosity. These values have underpinned our ethos for centuries.

On the eve of our 300th anniversary, we are delighted that boys will now also be able to benefit from the educational and pastoral excellence we offer. We believe that girls and boys are best prepared for life when learning alongside each other, collaborating and developing mutual respect both inside and outside the classroom.

Throughout our history, we have always sought to offer the best possible education, instilling confidence, integrity and excellence to enable every child in our care to become their best self and will continue to do so.

Each pupil will have a passionate love of learning and the ambition to pursue that passion, with superb teachers, in a unique setting that is both historic and deeply progressive.

Our founder originally established our School for boys who otherwise were unable to access a good education. A decade later, we became pioneers by opening our doors to offer an equally excellent education for girls. In the three hundred years since, SWPS has constantly evolved to nurture the talent of the next generation, and together, we believe we can build a stronger and better SWPS which meets the needs of many generations to come.

Co-education and expansion are, of course, based on demand — the number of parents, pupils, staff, alumni and interested outsiders asking about this has grown year-on-year. But, above all, it comes from a desire to make the school available to as many children as possible, to fully reflect the community we serve, and to shape that community in turn by educating brilliant young men and women with a commitment to making a difference.