St Columba's College

St Columba's College suits the child who wants to be known by name rather than measured against the child next to them, and who settles faster somewhere calm than somewhere competitive. It is an independent Catholic day school in St Albans, Hertfordshire, on King Harry Lane, a short walk from the city centre, looking across at the cathedral. It takes boys and girls from four to eighteen. A child entering Year 7 in 2027 joins a fully co-educational year group; girls have been part of the 11+ intake since September 2022.

The school was founded in 1939 and has been in the care of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart since 1955, the only school in Britain belonging to that congregation. The three words it keeps returning to are courage, courtesy and compassion, and the phrase you hear most often from staff is that pupils should be 'known, valued and treasured'. Day to day that looks ordinary in the best way: house tutors who see their group twice a week, and inter-house competitions running from sport and public speaking to chess and baking.

The Good Schools Guide found pupils 'charming and without a smidgeon of arrogance', and they name pastoral care as 'the single best thing about the school'. Parents talk about children they thought 'might have struggled elsewhere' and who have not. The same review is honest that this is 'not the best place for the single-minded scholar or more alpha types', worth knowing before you apply. It suits a child who is willing to have a go at things, who would rather be encouraged than pushed, and who will be happier somewhere the adults notice when a Tuesday has gone badly.