St Peter’s School in York is launching its 1400th anniversary celebrations this month. The independent school, which is the third oldest school in the UK, was founded in AD 627 by St Paulinus.

The celebrations began at Peterite Day on September 5, which featured sporting fixtures between pupils and alumni (Old Peterites), together with a chapel service, children's entertainment, a reunion and tours of the new junior school, which has just opened this term.

Jeremy Walker

There is an exciting year ahead at St Peter’s as we celebrate the school’s 1400th anniversary in 2027. Starting the year on a high, this September we welcomed children back to their transformed Junior School, which we believe is comfortably the best offering in Yorkshire.

It is set to be an exceptional year with the launch of our Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in October, keeping us at the forefront of educational research. In January we open The Rise Nursery, already over-subscribed, where families are now able to be part of the St Peter’s community from the age of six months.

Along with all this, we are celebrating 40 years of full co-education and, as the choir school for York Minster, looking forward to hosting the Choir Schools Association annual conference with a live broadcast on Radio 3.

As one of only three schools in the country to reach the 1400 milestone, we are looking forward to celebrating all that makes St Peter's so special with pupils, families, alumni and the wider York community.

The Junior School at St Peter’s, which opened this week, is a key part of a major structural shift to a two-school model with the Senior School operating from Year 7. It features dedicated, inspirational spaces for outdoor and indoor learning with a new library, modern science labs, an art studio, a design technology workshop, a theatre and extensive sporting facilities, including two sports centres and musical facilities.

Phil Hardy, Head of the Junior School, commented: "It's a privilege to welcome back our pupils and parents this term who will see our wonderful new junior school and all our incredible new facilities for the first time. A huge amount of work has gone on during the school holidays to transform the buildings into the best possible learning environment for our children, and I thank all the staff and contractors for their efforts".

The new junior school is part of a streamlined structure creating a continuous path from nursery and pre-prep all the way to sixth form at St Peter’s, with a new sixth form centre and cafe already open and new buildings to be added in 2027.

These structural changes have meant a significant remodelling of the school campus, overseen by architects brown + company and Harecroft Construction.

Jeremy Walker commented: “We were determined to appoint local Yorkshire companies for this crucially important project for the school and both have been magnificent.”

Meanwhile, in a key initiative launched as part of this special anniversary year, St Peter’s is collaborating with successful brands run by Old Peterites. One special edition product launching on Peterite Day is the St Peter's 1400 Wold Top Beer, created by the Mellor family, whose daughter Jenni heads up the marketing for Wold Top and is an Old Peterite.

The school have more successful Old Peterite brand collaborations to come, as well as an exciting programme of events, some in partnership with York Minster.