Named for the Great Duke
A school rooted in Cheltenham's Regency heritage, founded in 2010 to give young people a classic education with a modern outlook.
A Town Shaped by the Spa
In the early nineteenth century, Cheltenham became one of the most fashionable spa towns in England. Visitors came to take the mineral waters, and the town grew around them: wide promenades, elegant pump rooms and the terraces of Regency houses that still define the centre today.
Among its most famous visitors was the Duke of Wellington, known across the country simply as "the Great Duke". He came to Cheltenham to take the waters, and his visit became part of the town's story.
Why the Name
When the school was founded in 2010, we wanted a name that belonged to this place, and that said something about the people we hope our pupils will become. "The Great Duke" was a title earned through duty, steadiness under pressure and leadership. Those are qualities we try to grow in every pupil, alongside scholarship.
A Coronet Above an Open Book
Our emblem puts the school's purpose into a single drawing. A ducal coronet, with its strawberry-leaf points, rests above an open book.
The coronet stands for character and leadership: the Great Duke, and the kind of steady, responsible person we hope each pupil becomes. The book stands for learning. Neither sits above the other in importance; they belong together.
You will see the emblem on blazers, on certificates and above the door. We hope it comes to mean one simple thing to our pupils: be good, and be curious.
How the School Has Grown
From a single building on the High Street to a full day and boarding school, the milestones that have shaped us.
- 2010The Great Duke Education is founded on the High Street in Cheltenham.
- 2012The first boarding house opens, welcoming full, weekly and flexi boarders.
- 2014The Sixth Form opens, and the first A Level cohort begins its studies.
- 2018A new science and music building opens, with laboratories, practice rooms and a recital space.
- 2023Stratfield House opens as a dedicated boarding house for the Sixth Form.
- TodayA day and boarding community of pupils aged 11 to 18.