Introducing Wells Cathedral Prep School

Wells Cathedral School is pleased to announce that the Junior School has been renamed ‘Wells Cathedral Prep School’ with immediate effect.

Wells Cathedral School Junior School was founded in 1948, and this year celebrates its 75th birthday. The School continues to go from strength to strength: pupil numbers are increasing, in 2022 the Pre-Prep were finalists for two major national awards, and the school’s reputation for excellence and creativity is higher than it has ever been.

The new name has been agreed by the School Governors after hearing from prospective families who reported being confused by the name ‘Junior School’. They weren’t clear whether the school was a state or independent school, and some parents originally discounted it, only discovering it by word of mouth from a current parent. The fact that there already was a ‘Pre-Prep’ also caused some confusion, with one perceptive pupil memorably asking during an assembly: ‘how can you have a Pre-Prep without the Prep?’

Finally, given that the vast majority of its pupils are ‘prepared’ for entry to the Senior School – all part of the through-nature of Wells Cathedral School – the new name better represents the aim of a ‘School within a School’.
The governors of Wells Cathedral School are therefore pleased to announce the new name of Wells Cathedral Prep School, to celebrate and clarify the exceptional nature of the education that the School offers. The structure and governance of the School will remain as it currently is, with pupils attending the Prep School until the end of Year 6, before progressing to the Senior School on the same site.

Jody Wells, Head of the Prep School, comments: ‘As we celebrate our 75th birthday, it’s thrilling that we have the new name of Wells Cathedral Prep School. Nothing else about the School will change! We will remain the same warm, family-friendly School, bursting with creativity and joy, and inspiring our pupils to great academic and personal success. What WILL change, we hope, is that it will be easier than ever for prospective families to discover us and be able to enjoy the sheer magic that is Wells Prep. Here’s to the next 75 years!’

The Prep School’s 75th birthday year will be marked by a number of celebratory events, to be announced soon.

To find out more, visit the Wells Cathedral Prep School website.

See Wells Cathedral’s online listing here.