Culford School

Culford is a boarding and day school for over 670 children aged 2 ¾ to 18, set in 480 acres of beautiful Suffolk parkland, with an 18th century mansion at its centre.

Combining the warmth and individual attention of a small community with the wider educational opportunities of a larger school, Culford offers exceptional academic, sporting and extra-curricular facilities. As well as being blessed with a wonderful setting, Culford offers pupils a wealth of opportunities through its on-site facilities. With a 25m indoor swimming pool, an indoor/outdoor tennis centre, indoor and outdoor golf facilities, a music studio, two drama theatres and two artificial turf pitches, Culford has something to keep all pupils engaged no matter what their interests. High performance programmes in tennis, golf, and swimming attract talented British and international students.

Education at Culford is challenging, enriching and fun. The Headmaster, Julian Johnson-Munday explains: “Enjoying school is integral to successful learning. It is really important that children are happy and feel supported by their teachers.”

A recent Independent Schools Inspectorate report declared Culford’s Senior School teaching as Excellent. To stretch and challenge pupils, an annual Scholars’ Programme provides guest speakers on thematic topics which all pupils are welcome to attend. This year, speakers include the Chief Executive of Film London as well as noted academics speaking on the general subject of Art in their areas of expertise.

Boarding at Culford

With some 680 pupils, Culford is a relatively small school with more than half the Senior School boarding. Gavin Reynolds, Assistant Head in charge of pastoral care, explains: “Outstanding pastoral care is at our core – we are renowned as a caring, friendly and family focused community.”

Culford boasts four modern boarding Houses, which are run by friendly and experienced Housemasters and Housemistresses who take a genuine interest in the pupils under their care. Boarders also have their own personal tutor who is always available to help with academic work, aid with time management and encourage them in their ambitions and extra-curricular activities.

Extended day and flexible options

Culford wholeheartedly embraces day pupils into its warm community and aims to offer parents full flexibility with part or occasional boarding options. In addition, children can stay at school for an extended day from breakfast 7.30am until 9.00pm for Senior, or 8.00pm for Prep pupils, making it the perfect option for busy parents will full schedules.

Accessible Bus Routes, with new Shuttle Bus Services available

Culford School runs a comprehensive private bus service for day pupils, which operates from towns and villages, located as far as 30 miles from the School. This includes the new express services from Cambridge and Norwich, launched in 2015/16, enabling parents to send their children to school safely and on time without having to do the ‘school run’ themselves; making Culford accessible to children across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. 

High Performance Sport

As well as offering first class facilities, superb quality coaching and strength and conditioning across the major games of rugby, hockey, netball and cricket, Culford offers pupils the opportunity to combine a first class academic education alongside a bespoke sporting programme in four key sports:

• Tennis
• Swimming
• Golf
• Cricket

Culford provides a coherent pathway to develop pupils at Recreational, Development, Performance and Elite levels and each sport is directed by highly qualified staff with experience in leading and coaching high performance athletes.

Culford’s Performance Sport Co-ordinator, Ex-England Hockey player Helen Grant, provides a single point of contact for all parents to ensure that the school fully integrates all the demands of a busy school life with that of a performance athlete.

The programmes are predominantly delivered on the school grounds, using Culford’s own facilities, with minimal logistics, to ensure the most efficient and effective use of time. Exceptions to this include access to first class golf courses, including the renowned Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club.

Culford’s success at integrating pupils’ academic life with each child’s sporting aspirations has seen a number achieve sports scholarships both in the UK and the USA in recent years, including three Tennis Scholarships to American universities in 2015.

The best way of seeing what Culford has to offer is to visit us in person, so please feel free to call our Admissions Team on 01284 385308 to arrange a personal visit, or to ask any questions that you may have.

“Pupils and parents alike rate the school highly, and one has the feeling of a quietly self-confident, happy establishment.”

“A well rounded, thoroughly reliable school, in a wonderful setting.”

Good Schools Guide