Head of History

Hereford Cathedral School (HCS) is one of the oldest schools in the country and is located in the beautiful surroundings of Hereford Cathedral Close.

A happy, inclusive school with a national reputation for music, sport, and academic achievement, HCS is a co-educational day and boarding school for 745 pupils aged 3-18. In a caring and nurturing environment, every member of the community is both challenged and fulfilled. Pupils at HCS are offered an excellent standard of teaching and individual care and leave the School as well-balanced, confident and considerate young adults ready for the wider world. 

It is probable that the School was established at Hereford Cathedral in the 12th century, possibly as early as the 1130s, but little is known over the following centuries. Having been rebuilt in the reign of Edward VI (1547-53), it received considerable emoluments from Queen Elizabeth I in 1583. Its greatest benefactors came in the 17th century when Dean Langford, Roger Philpotts, a former Mayor of Hereford, and Sarah, Dowager Duchess of Somerset, gave sizeable bequests to the School for the foundation of scholarships. When Charles I granted new statutes to the Cathedral in 1637, the School’s endowment was also increased by the grant of a house and garden for the Headmaster. By 1762 a new schoolroom 80 feet long and 40 feet broad, with windows overlooking the palace yard, had been completed to the south-west of the Cathedral on the site of the old building. 

The period from the late 19th to the early 21st century has seen a remarkable growth in pupil numbers – from under 100 boys to more than 745 boys and girls (from 3 to 18 years) and a corresponding increase in staff; an expansion in the number of sites from the one in School Yard to seven around the Close and in Castle Street; the adoption of co-education in 1970; the integration of the Cathedral Preparatory School (now Hereford Cathedral Junior School, founded in 1898 and moved to its present site in 1925); and the development of purpose-built facilities (including most recently a new sports hall) and the School’s playing fields at Wyeside. 

HCS proudly reintroduced boarding in April 2019 following months of renovations on a former country house hotel. Wilmot House currently offers 29 students the benefits of an outstanding education and the friendly culture of a traditional British school. 

Looking to the future, there are plans in place to expand the School’s boarding provision as well as discussions at an advanced stage to launch the first Hereford Cathedral School overseas.