Culford School is a long established co-educational boarding and day school with a roll of approximately 650 pupils aged 2-18 years. It is set in a magnificent 18th Century park of 450 acres situated just outside Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. The School comprises
1. Nursery and Pre-Prep (2-8): a self-contained and purpose built school catering for 60 pupils.
2. Preparatory School (8-13): a boarding house for boys and girls, its own classrooms and playing fields.
3. Senior School (13-18): two Middle School boarding houses (13-16), one for boys and one for girls, and a Sixth Form House in which boys and girls share social facilities but have their study/bedrooms in separate wings. The boarding houses were purpose-built in 1973-4, providing a high standard of accommodation.
Day pupils enjoy extensive facilities in the Houses. Housemasters/Mistresses and Tutors are responsible for the oversight of both pastoral care and academic progress of pupils.
The Pre-prep, Preparatory and Senior Schools have their own identities but they benefit from shared facilities and a carefully integrated curriculum.
There is a broad ability range within the school, although pupils take up to 12 subjects at GCSE. In 1995 81% of the GCSE grades were in the range A to C. Sixth-formers have the opportunity to follow a wide range of subjects at A Level, AS Level and as one-year courses. In 1996 the pass rate was 94% with 70% of the grades in the A to C range.
The School has a Methodist foundation but children of all denominations are welcome. The Christian ethos, with its emphasis of community, caring and service, is distinct.
There are excellent facilities for games and a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Recent developments include the opening of a new Biology block in 1988, a new Design Technology Centre in 1990 and a new Recreation Centre with swimming pool, sports hall and squash courts in 1991, and a Sixth-form Study Centre in 1994, and a completely refurbished library in 1996.
