Cranleigh is a leading co-educational weekly boarding and day school set in a stunning rural location in more than 280 acres on the edge of the Surrey Hills. Cranleigh’s beautiful campus is exceptionally well equipped, with outstanding classrooms, studio, performance and sports facilities, including three theatres, twelve rehearsal and performance spaces, competition pitches, stables, sports centres, golf course, outdoor education centre and swimming pool.
There are strong links between the School and nearby Cranleigh Preparatory School and pupils also join from a wide variety of other prep schools across London and the home counties, creating a lively, House-based community of young people who are drawn together by their inherent love of life and getting involved in everything Cranleigh has to offer.
Cranleigh School’s principal aim is to provide an environment in which pupils can flourish, enabling them to capitalise on the diverse range of opportunities offered by the School and to achieve to the best of their ability within a framework of shared values and standards. The School’s 280-acre site, situated eight miles from Guildford on the Surrey/West Sussex border, lies on the outskirts of Cranleigh Village and within 45 minutes of London. The School is fully co-educational, with some 288 girls and 408 boys between the ages of 13 and 18, including a Sixth Form of about 280. It is a predominantly boarding community, attracting boarders from both the local area and further afield; it also, however, welcomes day pupils, who are fully integrated into the Cranleigh community, playing their part in the activities of their respective houses and benefiting from the advantages thereby offered.
Each house (separate for boys and girls) has a resident Housemaster or Housemistress, a resident Deputy, Matrons and a team of Tutors for both the Lower School and Sixth Form. There is also a strong and active partnership between parents and the School.
Cranleighans are encouraged to relish a challenge, to feel they are known as individuals, and to become talented and wise adults with the ability to adapt to a fast-changing world. Both the Prep and the Senior Schools are proud of their excellent academic track records, culminating in outstanding performances at Common Entrance, GCSE and A Level. 99% of pupils go onto Higher Education and Cranleigh also has a consistently strong Oxbridge contingent.
Academic patterns. Cranleigh enjoys an academic life that is both exciting and demanding. We have high expectations of our pupils, our academic results are strong and teachers are committed to ensure Cranleighans appreciate that acquiring a love of learning is crucial in leading a personally fulfilled and professionally successful life. Indeed, education finds its purpose in the value of the well-lived lives it makes possible, a value which goes far beyond economic prosperity. Our aim is to act within the spirit of the National Curriculum, but to offer more, taking full advantage of our independence and the extra time available to a boarding school. We, therefore, retain a very broad curriculum in the Fourth Form and have an options system in the Lower and Upper Fifth Forms which enables a pupil to take between nine and eleven GCSE subjects before moving on to A Levels in the Sixth Form. In the Sixth Form, pupils can select from a wide choice of subjects.
Lessons are focused, pacey and engaging, with the focus being on how the pupils learn, as opposed to how the teachers teach. Traditional teaching methods absolutely have their place, but we strongly advocate lessons in which pupils are actively involved in a dynamic process of thinking. Learning, it is said, is ‘supervised trying’ and we insist that working hard and working intelligently must always be the root of our success. We also know that learning is most rewarding in a community that is lively, co-operative, critical and, fundamentally, engaged with the joy of discovery.
Independent learning is a hugely important aim for us. With this in mind, all year 10 pupils have taken the Higher Project Qualification since September 2017 and from September 2016 onwards, the majority of our Sixth Formers have taken the Extended Project Qualification. These qualifications encourage pupils to think for themselves and come to answers through discussion and reflection.
We believe that education is richer and deeper when students approach their learning philosophically, asking themselves questions that lead to deeper thinking, and engaging with problems to which there may be no agreed answers. Education in this rich sense is more than a preparation for future work: it is a preparation for life in the complex and uncertain world that our students will enter.
Of course, examination success is important too and whilst pupils are encouraged to learn independently, they are also taught the knowledge and skills required for excellent performance in examinations. Independent learning is excellent preparation for examination success, but there will always be a place for precise instruction in the requirements of different assessment types, the essentials of examination technique, and the analysis of past examination performance.
Creative and Performing Arts. Cranleigh has maintained an enviable reputation for music over many years, and the Merriman Music School offers pupils some of the finest facilities available. We send choral scholars to Oxford, Cambridge and major music departments and colleges elsewhere; boys and girls of all ages successfully take part in national competitions and well over a third of the School learns a musical instrument. Keyboard players have access to our Mander two-manual tracker organ, purposefully designed for versatility and teaching, and to two Steinway concert grand pianos. Our exciting Cranleigh Music initiative is now well established, bringing together the Music departments of Cranleigh School and Cranleigh Preparatory School under a single performing, management and administrative structure. While facilities remain on separate sites (both sides of Horseshoe Lane), the ethos is that of a single music faculty encompassing the full 7–18 age range, whose cohesive structure will help to nurture and progress talent from a very young age, so ensuring that all pupils are able to perform in an environment commensurate with their individual ability.
Cranleigh also boasts a strong Drama department. Regular large-scale productions take place in the Speech Hall, to which is linked a studio theatre, the Vivian Cox Theatre, while a flourishing technical theatre department encourages the development of ‘backstage’ skills. The School’s proximity to London allows for regular attendance at professional theatre, music and opera productions.
Art and Design Engineering. Both subject areas house a talented mix of practising artists, teachers and designers. The Woodyer Art Studios provide some of the best school art facilities in the country and is spread over several buildings, with a mix of dedicated airy studios. Six large art studios provide specialist provision for painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and ceramics. A Sixth Form studio enables each student to have their own working space; two suites of computers provide digital facilities while photography is also equipped with a traditional darkroom. The printmaking studio is equipped for relief printing, acid-based etching, and screen-printing. A large project studio provides for a weekly Sixth Form life class and for exhibitions of student work.
The Design Engineering department boasts three fully equipped design studios and workshops. Each design studio features a suite of both PCs and Macs running the latest 2D and 3D CAD software, alongside ample space for the delivery of theoretical content and sketching. Each studio is equipped with a 3D Printer allowing for the rapid prototyping of 3D models created on Autodesk Fusion 360. The department also features a CAM mezzanine which is an excellent space for building 3D printers, housing the large format printer and vinyl plotter. The main Design Engineering workshop is housed within the school’s original sports hall which allows for a considerably sized, open-plan workshop kitted out with the required tools and machinery. Branching from the main workshop space is an electronics lab for soldering and electronic circuit development, a CAM area consisting of a large format CNC router and a laser cutter, and a heat treatment bay for welding and brazing.
The studios are open every day and appropriate use is made of the faculty library, ICT and digital video and photo facilities. External visits are encouraged (both nationally and internationally) and all students exhibit throughout the year.
Sport. Cranleigh has an extensive range of extremely high-standard sporting facilities. During their time at Cranleigh, pupils have the chance to try a variety of sports. Due to our Sport for All philosophy, all pupils have the opportunity to train and compete regularly as part of a team throughout the year.
The School possesses an impressive array of sports facilities, including three full-size Astroturf pitches (one of which is floodlit), a 9-hole golf course, Cricket Pavilion and five outdoor cricket squares, with one all-weather match pitch, an Equestrian Centre with two sand schools, one 30 m x 60 m, one 20 m x 40 m, both with floodlights, cross-country jumping field and on-site hacking, six fives courts, twelve hard tennis courts, nine Astro tennis courts, eight netball courts, an indoor swimming pool and eco-friendly, purpose-built fitness gym with a range of cardiovascular and weighted equipment as well as a physiotherapy room. For Rugby, Football and Cricket, Cranleigh also has ten grass pitches on site, including an International standard 1st XV pitch. The large Sports Hall complex, the Trevor Abbott Sports Centre, provides a popular venue for netball, tennis, badminton and basketball, and also includes a separate dance studio. There is also a separate Indoor cricket bubble for year-round development.
High standards are set for the numerous competitive teams, with an extensive programme of fixtures at all levels and for all ages. ‘Sport for All’ is a key philosophy at the School, supported by an experienced and talented team of coaches, many of whom have competed themselves at county, national and Olympic level. The School has witnessed some outstanding team and individual successes in recent years, including National representation in hockey, rugby, riding and cricket; taking National titles in horse riding (show jumping and dressage), kayaking, cricket, rugby 7s, swimming and hockey and also seeing several recent Old Cranleighans continue to compete in the international arena and as Olympic hopefuls.
In the Michaelmas term the majority sports are hockey for girls and rugby for boys; in the Lent term, the majority sports are netball for girls and hockey for boys. During the winter terms, pupils can also compete in lacrosse, cross country, golf, water polo, football, fives, and riding, plus badminton and canoeing for the Sixth Form. All pupils in the Fourth and Lower Fifth Forms take part in the majority sport, while an element of choice is gradually introduced for the older pupils. All pupils in the School take part in sport, even in the Sixth Form. In the Summer term, the main team sport for boys is cricket, whilst some boys compete in tennis, swimming, athletics and golf. For girls, the main sport is tennis, with competitive swimming, athletics, rounders and cricket popular additional offerings.
Service activities. There are opportunities for pupils to take part in a range of ‘service’ activities. Boys and girls may join the CCF or get involved with Voluntary Action or the Cranleigh School Environmental Action Group. Cranleighans help local people in community settings and also have links with local schools for children with learning difficulties and with a home for adults with similar difficulties. All houses and the Fundraising Group raise money for various charities.
Wider initiatives also include the School’s ‘Beyond Cranleigh’ partnership – a key partnership between Cranleigh School and Beyond Ourselves, a London-based charity that works to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people in both London and in Zambia. This partnership has led to Cranleigh’s sponsorship of a primary school in Kawama, to which Sixth Form pupils regularly make visits to help with building and teaching initiatives. Cranleigh has also pledged to support social enterprise projects in Kawama to provide jobs and skills training for locals post-education. Such initiatives are designed to focus pupils’ thoughts on life beyond the School.
Outdoor education. Cranleigh operates a large Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, with many pupils completing the Gold Award before leaving school. By way of introduction, all Fifth Form pupils undergo an Outdoor Education programme in order to improve their self-awareness and confidence. There are many other opportunities for Outdoor Education through the CCF, and there is a well-attended climbing club (which has its own bouldering wall).
Religion. The striking, neo-Gothic Chapel was built as a central point of the School, and Cranleigh maintains its concern to present the Christian way of life. It welcomes pupils of all faiths and none.
Developments. The Cranleigh School Development Plan of 2015 initiated the production of a master plan. The results of this master plan were to take a phased approach to campus development with the first phase commencing in 2016 and taking broadly four years. The overall theme of the Development Plan was to enhance pastoral support, and teaching and learning. It was considered that the girls’ boarding houses, at around 110 pupils, were too large and that two new boarding houses for girls should be developed, leading to four girls’ houses, each for around 75 pupils, in addition to the four boys’ houses, each of around 100 pupils.
The teaching facilities in the Connaught Block (to the right of Speech Hall) were considered to be past their best and so a decision was made to build a new teaching facility for English, the Humanities, Economics and Business Studies as well as Learning Support and Careers; the latter being broadened to Cranleigh Futures. A need was also identified at the Senior School for new squash courts and a modern café for pupils. At the Prep School, a number of the older buildings in the middle of the campus were outdated and it was decided to build new teaching facilities for Science, Design Technology and Art.
Girls’ boarding houses. The first major project was the creation of a third girls’ boarding house, Rhodes. This project was completed in October 2017 and after one year it has bedded into the Cranleigh landscape seamlessly. The opening of the van Hasselt Centre allowed existing classrooms in the Connaught Block to be converted back to their original use as boarding accommodation. We were delighted to open a fourth girls’ house in September 2019, named Martlet (after the birds on the School’s shield).
New teaching buildings. The building of the two new teaching buildings, one at each school, started in early 2017. The Prep School building progressed on schedule and their exciting new facility, including a flexible area for staff known as the Hub, was opened in early July by the former Chair of the Governing Body, Anthony Townsend, whose name the building takes. The new van Hasselt Centre at the Senior School, which includes both new classrooms and social spaces in the old squash courts, was completed in November 2018 and is now in full use. The centre is named after Marc van Hasselt, Cranleigh’s Headmaster from 1970–84. These two new facilities are both spectacular and evidence of the School’s strong commitment to core academic subjects.
Squash courts. The final element of the master plan was the building of new squash courts to replace the old courts which were subsumed into the van Hasselt Centre. Completed in 2023, these were built onto the side of the Trevor Abbott Sports Centre and include a new gym.
These new facilities add to the already impressive campus and take Cranleigh School forward as a leading co-educational dedicated boarding community. It is an exciting time to be at Cranleigh.
Planning for our pupils’ future. Cranleigh takes the future of its pupils very seriously. It maintains good contacts with various professions, industry and commerce, through links developed as part of the careers advice structure. All pupils are regularly assessed during their time at the School, and this process includes a period of Work Experience at the end of the Upper Fifth year. Closely linked with the Old Cranleighan Society and the School, the Cranleigh Network oversees skills training, CV advice, postgraduate work experience and mentoring.
Admission and registration. If you do not already know Cranleigh, we strongly recommend an initial visit during one of our small group visits or open mornings, dependent on age of entry. These will enable you and your child to have a tour of the school, ground and facilities and meet a few key members of staff to answer any initial questions. Our visits and open mornings are very popular and so advance booking via the Admissions office is essential to avoid disappointment. Please call the Admissions Office for more information on 01483 276377.
Awards. The Master of Scholars has a specific responsibility for all Scholars. They are members of their houses and attend normal lessons, but also have an additional programme throughout their time at the School that covers a wide variety of academic, cultural, social and commercial areas beyond the syllabus and which encourages independent thinking and research.
At age 13, Cranleigh School offers a variety of awards and scholarships. In certain circumstances, additional consideration may be given to sons or daughters of public servants, members of the armed forces and the clergy of the Church of England.
Fees per annum (2023-2024). Boarding: £46,035. Day: £37,905. It is the policy of the School to keep extras down to an absolute minimum, and limited to such charges as individual music tuition. Textbooks are supplied until the Sixth Form, at which point pupils are encouraged to buy their own so that they may take them on to university. A scheme is available for the payment of fees in advance.
Preparatory School. Cranleigh is closely linked with Cranleigh Preparatory School, where boys and girls are normally admitted at seven or eight, but also at other ages. For further information, apply to the Headmaster of the Preparatory School (see entry in IAPS section). Charitable status. Cranleigh School is a Registered Charity, number 1070856. It exists to provide education for children aged 13–18 and the Preparatory School for those aged 7–13.
Governors & Staff:
Chairman: Mr A J Lajtha, MA, FCIB
Deputy Chairman: Mrs M M S Fisher, MA
S E Bayliss, MA, PGCE
Colonel J W Boyd, OBE, MA
Mrs J A Brown, MA Oxon
Dr R M Chesser, MA, MB BChir, MRCP
Mrs F N Farrant, BA
Mr P S P Going, BSC, MRICS
Mr S Gunapala, BEng, MEng, FCA
Miss K J S Kerr, BA Hons, MCIPD
Mr J Kurshid, MA, KC
Mr J P Maskery, MEng
Mr C H Severs, LLB Hons
Mrs E Stanton, BSc, ACA
Mr J J D C Tate, BA Hons, DipArch, MArch, ARB, RIBA, FRSA
Mr P M Wells, BEd Hons
Mr D G Westcott, BA, BCL, KC
Mr S J Whitehouse, BA Cantab
Prof R J Wilkins, MA, DPhil
Mr D A E Williams, BA, FCA
Mrs M J Williamson
Clerk to the Governors: Mr P T Roberts, MBE, DChA
Headmaster: Mr Martin Reader, MA Oxon, MPhil, MBA, QTS
Deputy Head: Mr S D Bird, BA, MEd, QTS
Deputy Head (Pastoral): Dr A P Saxel, BSc, PhD
Deputy Head (Academic): Mr D R Boggitt, BEng, PGCE, MEd
Assistant Head (Co-Curricular): Mr C H D Boddington, BA, PGCE, MEd
Assistant Head (Director of IT): Mr D J Futcher, BSc, MBCS, QTS
Assistant Head (Learning, Teaching and Innovation): Dr J L Taylor, BA, BPhil, PhD, PGCE
Assistant Head (Liaison): Mr S J Batchelor
Assistant Head (Pastoral): Mr D J Mulae, BSc
Director of Operations: Mr P A Dunn, BA
Director of Finance: Miss J A Underdown, BA, CIMA
Director of External Relations: Mrs J R Cooksley, MA, BA Hons, NCJT Prof Cert
Director of Admissions: Mr A P Forsdike, MA, PGCE
Strategic Development Director: Mr J Dale-Adcock, BA, PGCE
Chair of Common Room: Miss S L Greenwood, BA