Specialist schools – arts, drama, music…. Currently there are nearly 3,000 specialist schools, or 88 per cent of the state-funded secondary schools in England. In the independent sector the term ‘specialist’ tends to focus more on developing outstanding talents mainly in a range of extra-curricular activities such as drama, music and the arts. The principal independent boarding schools in music, dance and drama are covered below. 

Music and dance

The Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) is a government-funded scheme to provide support for talented musicians and dancers. You can find out more at www.gov.uk/music-dance-scheme. There are nine MDS specialist schools throughout the UK, committed to the highest teaching standards in music and dance, alongside an excellent academic education. MDS schools are listed below.

Music and Dance Scheme schools

Chetham’s School of Music www.chethams.com

Elmhurst School of Dance www.elmhurstdance.co.uk

St Mary’s Music School www.stmarysmusicschool.co.uk

The Hammond School www.thehammondschool.co.uk

The Purcell School for Young Musicians www.purcell-school.org

The Royal Ballet School www.royalballetschool.co.uk

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts www.tringpark.com

Wells Cathedral School www.wells.cathedral.school.org

Yehudi Menuhin School www.menuhinschool.co.uk

Choir schools

The Choir Schools’ Association (CSA) represents 44 schools attached to cathedrals, churches and college chapels around the country. Pupils have unlimited access to first-class schooling and musical training, giving them an excellent start in life. More than 1,200 of the 21,500 boys and girls in choir schools are choristers. Some CSA schools take children from 7 to 13, others are junior schools with senior schools to 18. The majority are Church of England foundations, but the Roman Catholic, Scottish and Welsh churches are all represented. The majority are fee paying, with nine out of ten choristers qualifying for financial help with fees from the school or through the Government’s Choir Schools’ Scholarship Scheme. To find out more, go to www.choirschools.org.uk. The choir schools offering boarding are listed in the table below.

Choir schools offering boarding

School	City	Email	Website
Northern England
The Chorister School	Durham	head.teacher@thechoristerschool.com	www.thechoristerschool.com
Lincoln Minster Prep School	Lincoln	enquiries.lincoln@church-schools.com	www.lincolnminsterschool.co.uk
Chetham’s School	Manchester	chets@chethams.com	www.chethams.com
Ampleforth College	York	admissions@ampleforth.org.uk	www.ampleforth.org.uk
St James’ School	Grimsby	enquiries@saintjamesschool.co.uk	www.saintjamesschool.co.uk
Central England
Dean Close Preparatory School	Cheltenham	sabell@deanclose.org.uk	www.deanclose.org.uk
Hereford Cathedral School	Hereford	schoolsec@herefordcs.org	www.herefordcs.org
Lichfield Cathedral School	Lichfield	thepalace@lichfieldcathedralschool.com	www.cathedralchoir.org.uk
Christ Church Cathedral School	Oxford	schooloffice@cccs.org.uk	www.cccs.org.uk
Magdalen College School	Oxford	admissions@mcsoxford.org	www.mcsoxford.org
St George’s School	Windsor	registrar@stgwindsor.co.uk	www.stgwindsor.co.uk
London
St Paul’s Cathedral School	London	admissions@spcs.london.sch.uk	www.spcs.london.uk
Westminster Abbey Choir School	London	headmaster@westminster-abbey.org	www.abbeychoirschoool.org
Westminster Cathedral Choir School	London	office@choirschool.com	www.choirschool.com
Eastern England
King’s College School	Cambridge	office@kcs.cambs.sch.uk	www.kcs.cambs.sch.uk
St John’s College School	Cambridge	admissions@sjcs.co.uk	www.sjcs.co.uk
King’s Ely	Ely	admissions@kingsely.org	www.kingsely.org
Southern England
St Edmund’s School	Canterbury	juniorschool@stedmunds.org.uk	www.stedmunds.org.uk
The Prebendal School	Chichester	office@prebendalschool.org.uk	www.prebendalschool.org.uk
The Cathedral School	Exeter	hmsec@exetercs.org	www.exetercathedralschool.org
King’s Rochester Preparatory School	Rochester	prep@kings-rochester.co.uk	www.kings-rochester.co.uk
Salisbury Cathedral School	Salisbury	admissions@salisburycathedralschool.com	www.salisburycathedralschool.com
Polwhele House School	Truro	info@polwhelehouse.co.uk	www.polwhelehouse.co.uk
Wells Cathedral School	Wells	main-office@wells.cathedral.school	www.wells.cathedral.school.org
The Pilgrims’ School	Winchester	hmsec@pilgrims-school.co.uk	www.thepilgrims-school.co.uk
Wales
The Cathedral School	Llandaff	registrar@cathedral-school.co.uk	www.cathedral-school.co.uk

View a full list of boarding schools here.