- Community is at the heart of Portsmouth Grammar School, which was established in 1732 as a boys’ school, with sixth-formers – both girls and boys – giving thousands of volunteering hours to local organisations every year.
- There are more than 230 clubs, as well as weekly sporting fixtures and termly concerts and plays, sometimes held at Portsmouth Cathedral, the Kings Theatre and Portsmouth Guildhall.
- All pupils are members of a house; it is a system that forms a sense of identity and belonging, spirit and competition. The pastoral curriculum helps pupils to develop an awareness of personal health and wellbeing, and teaches them life skills. More than 90 per cent of pupils secure a place at their university of choice, including Oxbridge and Russell Group universities, or on a degree apprenticeship programme with firms such as KPMG.
- Means-tested financial assistance is offered to talented pupils who otherwise would not be able to attend the school. A range of scholarships recognises exceptional academic, artistic, dramatic, musical and sporting achievement.
- Notable former pupils include the poet Christopher Logue, the athlete Roger Black and the politician Mel Stride.
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