WHAT? WHERE?

Churcher's College Petersfield aerial view Hampshire independent schools

Churcher’s College is a large, selective co-ed day through school set against the rolling South Downs, with a Senior School and Sixth Form in Petersfield and a Junior School and Nursery in nearby Liphook.

The Senior School and Sixth Form cater to 1,056 pupils, with class sizes carefully managed for attention and support: up to 22 in the lower years, 15 in Years 10 and 11, and nine or fewer in the Sixth Form.

Founded in 1722 by local philanthropist Richard Churcher, the school moved to its current 10-acre Ramshill campus in the 1870s. While the Junior School is the official feeder, the Senior School also welcomes pupils from a wide mix of local preps and state primaries, creating a lively and diverse community.

FACILITIES/MUSIC

Churcher's College Petersfield Hampshire

In 2022, Churcher’s College cut the ribbon on an impressive new building. Used for Design and Technology, Music, Mathematics and Classics it has a 250-seater auditorium, 11 classrooms and 15 music instrumental lesson/practice rooms. Along with string quartets and other chamber groups there are orchestral ensembles and a hugely popular Saturday morning Rock School.

Take-up of individual lessons (35%) is pretty reasonable for a senior school of this size. Churcher’s College musicians and sizable teaching team are passionate about their art. There are plenty of concerts throughout the year, from lunchtime recitals to large scale events such as Cabaret nights and grand outdoor concerts. There are also trips further afield to performance venues like Cadogan Hall in London, as well as international choir and orchestra tours.

FACILITIES/DRAMA

Show drama theatre Churcher's College Petersfield Hampshire

Performing Arts at Churcher’s College is strong. Along with day-to-day lessons, young actors here get to work with professional directors, choreographers, musicians, and technicians. And they put on big productions, from Grease, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and West Side Story to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Diary of Anne Frank.

All pupils get the opportunity to study for LAMDA examinations in drama. And the keenest (over 18%) do, with professional tutors providing weekly coaching sessions. 100% achieved a merit or distinction in 2025 and 100% of Music GCSE candidates achieved A* – A Grades.

Just as enthusiastic as those on stage, kids involved in the production team get to use some high-spec, professional quality kit. It includes digital mixing desks and moving lights, with professional staff on hand to help design, coach and supervise them.

FACILITIES/SPORTS

Cricket at Churcher's College Senior school Petersfield Hampshire sport

Individual and team sports including hockey, cricket, netball, rugby, swimming, water polo and tennis are popular at Churcher’s College. All are played on-site, making the most of ten acres of grassy playing fields. And there’s plenty of other facilities, including two fitness suites and gym, a climbing wall, a large indoor swimming pool, multiple multi-use games areas and astro pitches, a cricket square and nets and two indoor sports halls.

Sport is played every Saturday. There are plenty of opportunities at every level to represent the school with year-round training and after-school sports activities. Plenty of Churcher’s College pupils do choose to play competitively and the school has a decent amount of silverware to show for it. Recent achievements for the girls’ and boys’ teams from Churcher’s College include being Silver Medallists for Netball at World School Games, Hampshire Champions for Rugby, Hockey, Tennis and Cricket and National Champion winners for Rugby in 2015 and Hockey (boys) in 2019.

Sports pool Churcher's College Senior school Petersfield Hampshire sport

In a school this size, not everyone will be trying out for competitive sports. But don’t worry if your child is a bit of a shrinking violet, there are plenty of ways pupils can and do keep active. Overall, the school’s sports ethos is much more about enjoyment than trophy gathering. The overriding ambition at Churcher’s College is to make all pupils comfortable with sport, which in turn translates to high participation levels.

SIXTH FORM

A big calling card for the school, at 16+ over 90% of Churcher’s College pupils go on to the Sixth Form. The rest of the places are snapped up by students from independent and state schools in the area. Entry is based on an interview with the Headmaster and Head of Sixth Form, with offers subject to achieving the necessary GCSE grades.

The Sixth Form has a decent subject choice. The 25 options include a few niche subjects like Ancient History, Music Technology, Latin and Politics. Lessons, lunch and activities mean mixing with the rest of the school but Sixth Formers have two of their own well-used common room areas for breaktimes. There’s no prescribed uniform but students are expected to wear smart office attire – and do so.

Canoeing Sixth Form girls Churcher's College Petersfield Hampshire

Moving on, Churcher’s College Sixth Form team provide tailored support for all students. There are specialist programmes for Oxbridge candidates, as well as budding architects and those applying for Medicine, Dentistry, Law and Veterinary Science. Many leavers choose to go on to Russell Group universities, the most popular being Durham, Exeter, Bath, Bristol, Nottingham and Cardiff and in 2025, 90% got their first choice of University. Between three and ten Churcher’s College students per year successfully land places at Oxbridge.

ACADEMICS

Attitude and academics are important at Churcher’s College and competition for places is strong at both 11+ and 13+. Prospective pupils are selected through an interview with the Head and the results of an entrance examination.

The academic results at Churcher’s College are consistently very good, highlighted by strong Value-Added Score metrics. In 2025, 73% got A*-A grades at GCSE and 98% achieved A-B. At A Level, 62% of leavers left with A-A* grades and 91% passed with an A*-B grade.

PASTORAL CARE

The school’s inclusive atmosphere and ethos of celebrating success in all forms – from maths champions to rock guitarists – all helps to create a strong feeling of common purpose and camaraderie among the cohort. There’s also a strong House System that helps form friendships between year groups.

Pastoral care is a school-wide responsibility, with Heads of House, Form Tutors, School Nurses, a Counsellor and the Chaplain all providing a listening ear. There’s also a dedicated Wellbeing building where the counsellor and nurses are based.

Pupils can also raise issues, concerns, or request change through the active School Council or informally via the ‘Confide’ channel. Churcher’s College also has regular PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) lessons that are sensitively delivered by Form Tutors, with input from external expert speakers.

THE HEAD

Simon Williams Headmaster Churcher's School Petersfield

Simon Williams joined Churcher’s College in 2004. A hands-on headmaster he’s served as a solid steer at the school and a well-known figure in the community for almost two decades. A graduate in Biology at Durham and PGCE at Cambridge, his first teaching post was at King’s College School in Wimbledon. He went on to become Head of Science at Newcastle-under-Lyme School and Deputy Head at Warwick School.

Williams moved his family to Petersfield when the Churcher’s job came up partly because he thought the school would be a nice school to send his own three children, with lots of opportunity for them to find their groove.

Outwardly relaxed with clear purpose, during his tenure he’s successfully improved the school’s already good academic achievement. It’s something he attributes to a process of ‘refinement rather than revolution’, as well as attracting and retaining good teachers.

Fittingly for the National Park setting, improving Churcher’s College’s eco-creds by carrying out recommendations from the Carbon Trust have been high on the agenda. In total, there are 1,100 solar panels generating power across the two Churcher’s College school campuses – part of a five-year plan to reduce its environmental impact by 2030. The measures build on Churcher’s impressive achievement of planting 1,800 trees in 2022.

QUIRKS

Somewhat unusual for such a large senior school, there is a real universal have-a-go culture among Churcher’s College pupils. In particular, the school has excellent participation rates for pupils completing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme.

The Combined Cadet Force is popular in all three sections – Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. And there’s plenty of character-building junior and senior overseas expeditions for budding explorers with past trips including Iceland, the Norwegian Fjords, Peru and Bolivia, Africa, the Amazon and Ecuador.

Extra-curricular clubs here include everything from Brain Games to Indoor Climbing, Gaming Club, Backstage Club, STEAM Robotics, Science Club, Greenpower Club (electric cars), Digital Photography, Mandarin and Martial Arts.

ISI REPORT

The latest ISI report was published in January 2023, covering every aspect of the school from the Nursery and Reception in Liphook to the Senior and Sixth Form in Petersfield. The whole school Inspection rated the quality of the pupils’ personal development including academic and other activities as excellent.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Mobile phones may be brought to school but for First to Fifth Years (Years 7 – 11) they cannot be used between 8.30am and 4pm and must be locked using a Yondr pouch system. Mobile devices can be used by the Sixth Form students in the Sixth Form common rooms.

TRANSPORT

Pupils come in from a wide catchment area of around a 30 miles radius of Petersfield by train, car and the extensive school bus network.

FEES + SCHOLARSHIPS

Fees are currently £7,995 per term, comparative with other well-known independents in the area. For 2025, see the website here. Academic Scholarships, Music Scholarships and Music Exhibitions are awarded in recognition of academic or musical excellence and exceptional contribution to the community of the school and/or the wider community of Petersfield. Exhibitions may also be awarded to those whose involvement in activities within the school is at an exceptionally high level. Means-tested Bursary Awards are also available.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Pupils at Churcher's College Petersfield Hampshire senior sixth form independent

Churcher’s College has a longstanding academic and all-round reputation. It tends to attract a totally different type of family to Bedales, the other big-name independent in the area. Parents like the fact that there’s ‘something for everyone’ in terms of opportunities in sports, academics, arts and extra-curricular activities and feedback their satisfaction that the school delivers academically and holistically for their children. They also point to strong pastoral care, all qualities that are echoed by the friendly Sixth Formers I speak with.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Parents that expect high academic standards but also want their kids to try new things and pursue talents and interests in an inclusive, supportive environment. Churcher’s College regularly welcomes just one or two children from different schools in a wide catchment, which means many new starters without existing friendships all being in the same boat. Access to one of only two Sixth Forms in Petersfield adds to the appeal.

Not for: Churcher’s College requires quite high academic expectations from the off, which won’t suit every child. The fees reflect the calibre of teaching and opportunities here but might be a stretch for some parents.

Dare to disagree? Be my guest! The next Senior and Sixth Form Open Events are on 5 June and 4 July 2026.

Churcher’s College, Ramshill, Petersfield GU31 4AS. Tel. 01730 263033.

Churcher’s College, Petersfield

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