- Cheadle Hulme School, in Cheshire, was founded as the Manchester Warehousemen and Clerks’ Orphan Schools in 1855, for children left behind by local workers. The original initials explain why former pupils – such as the BBC journalists Nick Robinson and Katie Derham and the Bridgerton actress Phoebe Dynevor – are called Old Waconians.
- The school’s “Waconian values” of resilience, integrity, endeavour, contribution and compassion are central to day-to-day life.
- The Victorian buildings that have housed the school since 1869 are set in 83 acres of parkland. Sports facilities include an indoor pool, floodlit all-weather pitches, indoor cricket nets, and courts for badminton, tennis and netball.
- Cheadle Hulme aims to be net-zero by 2030 and hosts an annual “Eco-Con” community fair with sustainability workshops and displays.
- Financial assistance is available to pupils joining in Years 7 and 12 and ranges from covering 10 per cent to 100 per cent of the annual fee.
Sign up to The Times and The Sunday Times weekly parenting newsletter