Berkhamsted Boys School

Berkhamsted Boys suits a sociable, energetic boy who wants a full week: lessons he has to work at, plus sport, music or something outdoors most afternoons. It is an independent school within Berkhamsted Schools Group, teaching boys from 11 to 16 on the Castle Campus in the middle of the Hertfordshire town. The group runs a diamond structure: co-educational to 11, single-sex senior schools from 11 to 16, then a co-educational sixth form, Berkhamsted Sixth. The girls' school is a short walk away on the Kings Campus, so the two share much co-curricular life without sharing a classroom. Entry is at 11+ into Year 7, and most boys are day pupils, with flexi-boarding from Year 7 and full boarding from Year 9.

Founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's, the school still has the Old Hall he built, finished in 1544. A girls' grammar school followed in 1888, and the two merged in the 1990s. The boys' boarding house is named Incents, after the founder. Outdoor education matters here, from high ropes to climbing in the Peak District, and the Combined Cadet Force is over a century old. Graham Greene was a pupil while his father was headmaster.

The Good Schools Guide describes a 'work hard, play hard culture', calls sport 'the jewel in the extracurricular crown' and found the boys 'chatty and at ease with adults'; one parent praised tutors who 'create such great rapport'. The head speaks of challenge and demand alongside 'the right climate to develop their talents and self-esteem'. It suits a boy who does better with structure and plenty going on, who would rather be known by name in his own house than lost in a crowd.