The Leys School

The Leys is a good fit for the curious, sociable child who would rather be busy than left to drift, and who likes a school where the day keeps going after lessons stop. It is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged 11 to 18, on a fifty-acre site on Trumpington Road a short walk from the middle of Cambridge. Full boarding, home boarding and day places sit side by side, so families can choose how much of the week a child spends on site.

The school opened in 1875, founded by Methodist laymen who wanted somewhere for the children of their own congregations; sixteen boys arrived on the first morning. Girls joined the sixth form in the 1980s and the rest of the school by the mid-1990s. The Methodist inheritance shows now mainly in the chapel, which stays at the centre of things without anyone needing religious credentials to belong. One former pupil, James Hilton, went on to write 'Goodbye, Mr Chips', modelling the title character on a Classics master, W. H. Balgarnie, known to generations of boys as 'Uncle'. Years 7 and 8 live together in Moulton House, and with a boat house on the Cam rowing often becomes part of the weekly rhythm early.

The Good Schools Guide quotes parents who like that staff 'get to know the pupils' and will 'nip problems in the bud before they develop', and a sixth former who said, 'The opportunities are amazing.' The same review describes children allowed to 'sing their own song'. It suits a child who wants room to try things, and who will settle faster for having a housemaster or housemistress who already knows their name.