Devonport High School for Boys

If your son is the sort who takes things apart to see how they work, Devonport High School for Boys is a Plymouth grammar with a long-standing name for science and engineering. It is one of the city's three grammar schools, selective at 11 with a co-educational sixth form, and around 1,268 pupils attend, with a sixth form of roughly 350. It draws boys from a vast 750-square-mile catchment, with some travelling in from as far as Okehampton, Truro and the South Hams alongside local city families; a shared bus service links all three Plymouth grammars, so the daily commute is a well-worn one. The Good Schools Guide describes boys who are "well mannered and proud of their school", which captures the settled, unshowy feel of the place.

The setting is genuinely unusual. Founded in 1896, the school moved in 1945 into a grade II listed grey stone building that had earlier served as a prison during the Napoleonic wars, built by prisoners of war, and then as a military hospital in the Second World War. Facilities now include a 300-seat tiered theatre, and the sport runs unusually wide, from rugby, rowing, cricket and fencing through to American football, so there is room for most enthusiasms.

Led by headteacher Dan Roberts, a scientist by background, the school has built steadily on its scientific strengths while widening what is on offer beyond them. It suits a curious, self-motivated boy who wants a traditional grammar grounding with real depth in the sciences, and who won't mind travelling a fair way to get it.