[3] In the 12th century, Exeter was regarded as an important centre of learning, and canon law was also taught at the cathedral.

[4] For centuries, the school was provided by the Dean and Chapter to educate and house about twenty-six boy choristers who sang the cathedral's daily services, including Sung Eucharist and Choral Evensong.

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.

[5] In the 1960s, the Dean and Chapter began to enlarge the school, offering places to boys other than the cathedral choristers.

[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.