The exact date of the founding of the cathedral school is not known, but it has been educating choristers since 1179.[3] In the 12th century, Exeter was regarded as an important centre of learning, and canon law was also taught at the cathedral.[4]
Musical training was given to the choristers by the cathedral's organist and the master of choristers. Although these offices could be held by the same person, from the 17th century on they were usually carried out by two different men.[6] In 1609, Edward Gibbons, a brother of Orlando Gibbons, was hired to teach the choristers instrumental music. In 1662, William Wake was being paid £20 a year to teach the choristers and secondaries composing, singing, and the playing of the viol and the violin, and at the request of Charles II was given a leave of absence to carry out the same duties for the Chapel Royal.[7]
The school's present main building, known as the Chantry, was built in 1870.[5]
In the 1960s, the Dean and Chapter began to enlarge the school, offering places to boys other than the cathedral choristers. In 1994, a girls' choir was established in the cathedral, and the school became co-educational.[5] By 2008, the families of the choristers were having to pay for their education, but there were eighteen choral scholarships, worth up to one quarter of the school fees.[8]
In 2014, the school became independent of the Dean and Chapter, when it was established as an institution with its own governance and separate finances.[5]
In 2017, two thirds of school-leavers were offered scholarships, exhibitions, or other awards by senior schools.[9] The school was assessed by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in May 2019 and judged to be 'excellent' in all areas.[10] By 2020, the school was educating about 275 children, offering a broad education rooted in Christian values.[5] It is a member of the Choir Schools' Association.[11]
^Stanford E. Lehmberg, Cathedrals Under Siege: Cathedrals in English Society, 1600–1700 (Penn State Press, 1996), p. 163
^Lehmberg (1996), p. 165, referencing Act Book 1607–1628, p. 112 (Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3553), and a letter to the Dean and Chapter from King Charles II dated 23 December 1662
^"Anglican Choir Schools" in British Music Education Yearbook (Rhinegold Publishing, 2008), p. cxxvii