Newcastle-under-Lyme School

Located in the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme, this independent school offers a nurturing environment where academic excellence and personal development go...

Newcastle-under-Lyme School was founded in 1602 by Sir Richard Cock, a Tudor merchant from Newcastle-under-Lyme, as a grammar school for the boys of the Staffordshire market town immediately west of what is now Stoke-on-Trent (The Potteries). The school operated as a boys' grammar school for over 370 years before becoming co-educational in 1981, and today educates around 889 pupils ages 3-18 across an integrated Junior and Senior School structure. The Headmaster is Michael Getty.

The school is a member of the HMC and is inspected by the ISI. The school's central Newcastle-under-Lyme location places it immediately adjacent to Stoke-on-Trent — the historic Potteries city of Wedgwood, Spode, Royal Doulton and Mintons — and on the doorstep of Keele University. The geographic position has produced a particularly strong Keele University Medical School pipeline.

The school's academic profile is mid-to-top quintile Midlands independent, with strong A-Level results and a strong Russell Group pipeline reflecting the substantial bursary programme. The 424-year-history of the school is preserved in the school's archives and chapel, and the Newcastle-under-Lyme Educational Foundation has continued to fund substantial bursary remissions since the Tudor period, maintaining the founding 1602 grammar-school principle of educational access for Staffordshire families regardless of family means.

The school's most internationally famous alumnus is Sir Stanley Matthews CBE — the Stoke City and Blackpool footballer known as "the Wizard of the Dribble", the only footballer to be knighted while still playing, the first European Footballer of the Year (1956), and the man whose performance in the 1953 FA Cup Final (the "Matthews Final") is widely regarded as among the greatest single-match displays in association football history. Matthews was educated partly at the school in the 1920s before turning professional with Stoke City at fifteen.

The beautiful Victorian school buildings you see now were built in the 1870s. Today the School enjoys an elegant suburban setting on a 35 acre site. The setting is open and attractive with tree lined paths and well-tended gardens. The traditional and modern school buildings blend seamlessly and, like these buildings, the education children receive here fuses the best from the past and present. The School playing fields and pitches are readily accessible and cleverly integrated into the site. The School is easily reached from the surrounding areas including Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire and is close to the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

For 424 years, NULS has been a pioneer and beacon of outstanding education, not only in the region, but also in North of England. This unique spirit, which is at the very heart of our school, has never been more evident than it is today. Awarded ‘Best UK Independent School, 2025’ in the prestigious Independent Education Awards, we are thriving and relentless in our pursuit of ever higher standards, as Staffordshire’s leading independent school.

If you would like to discover more about our School, about the incredible pathways and futures our pupils secure or the friendly and the supportive community that we cherish and foster for our pupils, then I would certainly encourage you to visit us, and explore all that we have to offer.