Stowe School

Stowe follows the English system, with GCSEs in the Fourth and Fifth Forms and A Levels (and BTEC courses) in the Sixth Form. Pupils for whom English is not a first language can take the IGCSE in English as a Second Language and prepare for IELTS. The Futures department supports applications to UK universities, Oxbridge and medicine, and has specific guidance for US colleges, including SAT and ACT preparation.

Stowe covers ages 13 to 18. Pupils normally join the Third Form (Year 9) and move through the Fourth and Fifth Forms to GCSE, followed by the Lower and Upper Sixth with A Levels or BTECs. There are also entry points at 14+ and 16+. Younger children can attend the prep schools of The Stowe Group, which are separate schools.

Stowe aims to provide a rich, broad and holistic education that nurtures each pupil's interests and talents and promotes physical and mental wellbeing. It seeks to build good character and a commitment to the common good, rooted in the Protestant principles of the Church of England, and to encourage an appreciation of beauty and culture. Its Change Makers vision asks pupils to use their education to make a positive difference.

The school is based in Stowe House and its historic parkland, with the 18th-century state library used as the school library and a large chapel at the centre of the site. Sports facilities include a 25 m six-lane pool, a sports hall, a gym, an eight-lane athletics track, 27 tennis courts, squash and fives courts, a floodlit astro, many rugby, cricket, football and lacrosse pitches, a nine-hole golf course with indoor studio and an equestrian centre with cross-country course. The Chung Music School has a 200-seat auditorium and recording studio, and the Roxburgh Hall is the home of drama.

Pastoral care is based on the house system, with Houseparents, tutors, resident matrons and a Medical Centre permanently staffed by qualified nurses, plus access to the school doctor and on-site therapy. Skills Support and Learning Support Assistants help pupils with special educational needs. A home-to-school bus service runs for day pupils, with a weekly bus from London. Meals are provided by an external catering partner, and scholarships can be topped up with means-tested bursaries.

Stowe offers full boarding, flexi boarding and day places. Pupils live in houses of around sixty, either in the mansion itself or in nearby buildings, each run by Houseparents supported by tutors, matrons and resident staff. Boarding fees for 2026-27 are £19,520 per term, and flexi boarding of up to three nights a week is available for day pupils. Weekends include sport, activities and a regular chapel service.

Sport is offered every afternoon, with more than 25 sports including cricket, hockey, lacrosse, netball, rugby, tennis, athletics, badminton, basketball, clay pigeon shooting, climbing, cycling, dance, equestrian, fencing, football, golf, polo, rowing, skiing, squash, swimming and water polo. Stowe has a golf academy and an equestrian centre. The weekly programme of almost 200 activities includes orchestras, bands, drama productions, art and ceramics, robotics, coding, chess, Model United Nations and debating, the Combined Cadet Force, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and community service projects.