St Peter’s was founded in 1882 by the Rev. Alfred Wren on Boarden Barn, Exmouth, with about a dozen pupils. He took the name from Peterhouse, Cambridge where he was an undergraduate.  Upon his retirement in 1890, the school was taken over by Mr Hodgson, who was determined to make the school a success, and was its Headmaster for twenty-three years.  He and his wife made considerable improvements to the school during that time.  For example, it was the first school in Devon to take up the game of Hockey only four years after its introduction to the country.

Hodgson grew the school to about thirty pupils before his retirement in 1913.  His place was taken by Harold Falkner, who was Headmaster for 29 years until his death in 1942.  Harold made St Peter’s a leading Devon prep school by expanding and improving the buildings and activities offered.  In 1919, boys passed Common Entrance to Eton, King’s College, Canterbury; St Edward’s, Oxford and King’s College, Taunton to name a few, and in 1923 the first recorded Scholarship was achieved to Blundell’s School.  By 1926 the school had seventy pupils and eight staff and the “Bungalow”, which was erected as a sanatorium, had to be used as classrooms instead.  This building moved to the present site in 1949 and is still in use – perhaps the longest serving ‘temporary’ classroom in the country!

A prospectus from the 1930’s advertises the school as “preparatory for boys aged 7-14 for Public Schools or the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth”.  Among the subjects taught were Scripture, Latin, French, Maths, Drawing and Elementary Science.  There was extra tuition in piano, singing, dancing, swimming, carpentry and language.  The 30s saw the school’s sporting standards reach an impressive level.  In 1936 and 37, the football, hockey and cricket XIs won every single game they played, and so daunting were they that opposing schools cancelled further matches.

Falkner’s successor was Theophilus Rhys-Jones, who joined the staff at St Peter’s in 1937.  He was Senior Master when Harold Falkner died, and took over the reins.  The number of boys had dropped to about 40 at this point due to the war, but numbers gradually increased to over 70 by 1949.  On 12 July, 1949, he sent a letter to the parents announcing that “After much careful and anxious consideration we have decided to move the school to new premises, and we are in negotiation with Admiral Sir Arthur Peters for the tenancy of Harefield House, Lympstone”.  This was to alter the whole course of St Peter’s history. 

Rhys-Jones became seriously ill in 1954 and his Senior Master, Basil Lake ran the school during his 2-year absence.  He had been a pupil of St Peter’s and a member of staff prior to active service in the Second World War.  When Rhys-Jones died in 1959 there were just under 100 boys in the school with ten full-time staff, and Basil, with his experience of running the school, was readily equipped to take over.  The Lakes further improved the new site, converting the stables and coach house, and adding the classroom block adjacent to the Bungalow.