Welcome to The Royal Hospital School
The Royal Hospital School is one of the UK’s leading independent co-educational boarding and day schools. The School has a roll of just over 700 pupils aged 11-18, 540 of whom are boarders with the rest being day pupils or day boarders. The School occupies a magnificent site on the banks of the River Stour in the Suffolk countryside, a few miles south of Ipswich.
The Headmaster, Mr. Howard Blackett, is a member of the Headmasters’ & Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) which represents the UK’s top 250 independent co-educational/boys’ schools
Watch and listen to the Headmaster's Introduction - ensure you have your speakers switched on
The Royal Hospital School provides an outstanding all round education for its pupils. Academic standards are high and the school has a very wide-ranging programme of sport, music and extra-curricular activities. The School’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is the tenth largest in the country and many pupils participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Sailing is a particular strength and it is usually the case that the School’s top sailors are competing at international level.
The main points of entry are at 11+ (mostly from primary schools), 13+ (mostly from prep schools) and 16+, although the School does admit pupils at all other ages. 90% of the School’s departing Upper Sixth Form pupils progress on to higher education, and many of them secure places at the UK’s leading universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh and other Russell Group institutions.
Having just completed a five year programme of building development, which included the creation of a new music school at a cost of £3.5million and a complete refurbishment of boarding accommodation, the Royal Hospital School now has outstanding facilities.
The Royal Hospital School has a long and proud history and still maintains strong links with the Royal Navy and, in particular its affiliated ship HMS Dauntless, a new Type 45 Destroyer.


