In July of that year, the school moved towards ending a 30-year period as an independent, fee-paying institution by applying to change its status to a publicly funded city academy with specialities in music and maths – the first choir school in the country to make such a move.

Weekly assemblies, occasional services and school concerts are held in Bristol Cathedral.

Following its conversion to Academy status, several new buildings were added to the school on the west side of College Square.

The school has improved its results over the period from 2009 to 2011 and achieved its best ever GCSE scores in 2011 The table below shows the percentage of students achieving the key measure of 5 GCSEs at grades A*–C including English Language and Mathematics.

[8] Each year a teacher from St. James's visits BCCS for two or three weeks, getting involved in School activities including expeditions, observing lessons and also giving lessons on topics such as AIDS, agriculture or African economics.

They act as classroom assistants at St. James's, as well as helping in a local primary school and in an orphanage or a street children's centre.

[9][10] It has been alleged that the influential pseudonymous graffiti artist Banksy, whose identity is a closely guarded secret, is in fact a former pupil of Bristol Cathedral School named Robin Gunningham.