A number of schools set up to educate the choir boys of Winchester Cathedral are known to have existed since Saxon times.

Some scholars link them with the Alta Schola (Latin; High School), established in Winchester around AD 676.

[3] The main building, redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren in the 17th century, is on the site of a former Roman villa, and includes a medieval hall and barn.

[5] The school hall contains England's oldest surviving wood double hammer-beamed roof, which used to accommodate the pilgrims travelling to the cathedral.

Nature reserves in the water meadows have an abundance of wild flowers and birds, and an Iron Age fort comprising a maze at the top of St Catherine's Hill is within walking distance of the school grounds.

There are eight dormitories, and the building mainly houses the Winchester Cathedral Choristers and the majority of 'Commoners' (other pupils).