WHAT? WHERE?

Children at St Christopher's School and Nursery in Epsom, Surrey

St Christopher’s School is a charming co-ed pre-prep and nursery for children aged 2¾ to 7 years set down a quiet residential street in Epsom. Currently teaching about 150 pupils, with an even 50/50 boy-to-girl ratio and small class sizes, it’s a nurturing and homely school with a focus on creativity, independence and holistic development.

In 2025, the school joined the prestigious Reigate Grammar School Group which means pupils benefit from a seamless pathway with the RGS family of schools. St Christopher’s pupils benefit from early offers to sister prep school Chinthurst in Tadworth.

Founded in 1938 – originally in Epsom’s Ashley Road with just eight pupils – St Christopher’s grew quickly and by 1942 had moved to the current location on Downs Road. The main building is a handsome Edwardian house, and its character fills the rooms. If you like a school with a feeling of informality and intimacy, you’re in the right place. There have been additions over the years – a school hall on to the left of the main house and new nursery and pre-reception classrooms on the right.

Children at St Christopher’s live fairly close to the school – most within a five-mile radius that takes in Epsom, Ewell, Leatherhead, Ashtead, Sutton and Tadworth.

While the school is named after Saint Christopher, it’s a non-faith school with no specific religious affiliation, welcoming children of all backgrounds.

FACILITIES

St Christopher's School and Nursery in Epsom, Surrey

You get the best of all worlds at St Christopher’s School. It’s small and homely – with all classrooms set over three floors in the main Edwardian school building. But there’s plenty of outdoor space including a hard-court area, sports field and dedicated Forest School.

Classrooms are all large, light and bright – many benefiting from large dual-aspect windows that look out over the school grounds. There’s a calm vibe throughout with cool neutrals dominating the interior colour palette.

The school uses its large multi-purpose hall is used for assemblies, school productions, indoor sports, and lunch. There’s also a cosy library.

Outside you’ll find the Nursery and Pre-Reception play area which includes a Garden Cottage playhouse, a hard-surface bike riding area, sandpit and mud kitchen. There’s also a multi-purpose classroom.

LITTLIES

The Nursery (rising 3) and Pre-Reception (rising 4) provision spans a large open-plan area the equivalent of four classrooms each flowing on from each other to the outside space. The classrooms are warm, bright and welcoming with a lovely calm vibe. While the nursery was extended and redeveloped about five years ago, there’s still a crisp newness about them.

It’s a seven-area nursery, which means there are seven activity stations – inside and out including a purpose-built kitchen, art and craft room and role play areas

Learning is mostly through play in a free-flow way, and children will be encouraged by staff to ‘play’ at each of the stations. As an all-weather school, there’s a big emphasis on outdoor learning and play.

As well as explicit teaching each week for phonics and maths, children in the Nursery and Pre-Reception will also have lessons with specialist teachers for French, PE, art, Forest School and music.

Every child in Nursery and Pre-Reception is assigned a key worker (there’s one keyworker for every 10 pupils) who will monitor each child, log progress and communicate with parents.

Children start in the Nursery when they’re 2¾ and settle in quickly thanks to a structured transition programme for all new-starters that involves four online-sessions, a tour and four afternoon sessions before they officially start. I visited a few days into the new term and every child was happy, relaxed and super comfortable, including two or three that were only on their second day. Be warned though: it’s a popular nursery, so register early.

THE ARTS

The arts take centre stage at St Christopher’s and there’s a bulging trophy cabinet to show for it. In the 2025 ISA Regional Art Competition, four St Christopher’s pupils won the top prize for the work and will now go on to the National ISA Art Awards in November. Watch this space!

But it’s not all about the prizes – the school actively promotes creativity in all areas of learning, embedding creativity and innovation throughout the curriculum.

From Pre-Reception, children have specialist lessons in art and music, and there are plenty of drama opportunities through class assemblies and a multitude of school productions throughout the year.

SPORT

Children have sports lessons all the way through St Christopher’s School from a dedicated specialist teacher. It starts with one lesson a week in Nursery and by Year 2 children have three sports lessons a week.

The co-curricular programme offers more sporting opportunity with after-school clubs for Rugbytots, football, cricket, tennis, netball and yoga.

There’s also a popular annual sports day with pupils competing against each other within the house system.

ACADEMICS

Children at St Christopher’s do very well academically thanks to a well-thought-out programme that focuses on developing skills, independence and creativity. A hothouse school, St Christopher’s most certainly is not.

The school follows a theme-based curriculum with a strong emphasis on speaking and listening. Learning in Reception is centred around play but there’s daily phonic sessions, whole class and small group teaching as well. At this age, there’s an emphasis on communication, physical development, and PSE (personal, social, and emotional) development. They’ll also have specialist lessons in music, art, PE and French

Years 1 and 2 take things up a notch, with the curriculum crafted around termly topics alongside personalised learning.

In the transition between Years 1 and 2, parents take part in a transition meeting to discuss their child’s onward journey from St Christopher’s. Every child in Year 2 is given a special role and responsibility – from Head Boy and Girl to House Captains, Music Captains and Eco Captains.

The school has a tailored 7+ process for all children where it focuses on finding the school most suited to each pupil. In 2024, all children leaving at received their first choice of school which included City of London Freemen’s, Chinthurst School, Downsend as well as local state schools.

PASTORAL CARE

St Christopher’s School has a strong reputation for its warm, nurturing atmosphere and committed and caring staff. There is a genuine family-feeling to the school. Obviously, St Christopher’s size is a powerful tool when it comes to pastoral care – all children are well known by all staff.

The school also works hard to build strong relationships with families. Workshops and discussion evenings are held with parents throughout the year. And each term parents are invited to a parents’ morning, to see their child’s learning in action. Each year, there’s also a day for grandparents.

Programmes to monitor and aid wellbeing are also in place including Mighty Minds, a mental health programme for younger children. St Christopher’s also follows the Zones of Regulation framework to help students regulate their emotions. The framework uses four colours – blue, green, yellow and red – to categorise different states of emotion, helping children identify their feelings and develop strategies to manage them.

St Christopher’s mission is to develop independent, highly motivated and engaged learners. To support this a formal tracking system monitors pupil’s wellbeing and engagement. The school uses the Leuven scale, a five-point scale that allows staff to measure a child’s emotional well-being and involvement.

For additional learning support, the school also has a dedicated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.

THE HEAD

Bronia Grehan has been the head teacher at St Christopher’s since 2022. She’s only the seventh head – all of them women – in the school’s history. Passionate about early years’ education, Bronia believes this is a crucial time in a child’s educational journey. But she’s equally committed to supporting parents through their child’s early years of education and bridging that gap between home and the wider world.

Bronia believes that the earliest years are when the foundations are laid for critical thinking and resilience. It’s when schools can nurture confidence, adaptability and independence – from the very beginning. Her philosophy includes providing a warm, playful, and inquiry-rich environment, thoughtfully designed to spark curiosity, encourage exploration, and to foster purposeful learning.

WRAP AROUND CARE

The Larks early morning breakfast club is from 7.45am and includes a healthy breakfast. After-school care – aka Owls – runs until 6pm. Children take part in arts and crafts, outdoor play and games, story time and quiet reading, and themed activities. After-school clubs also run Monday to Friday offering a range of choice including French, Lego club, sign and sing, cooking, art, netball and Tennis.

ISI REPORT

The most recent ISI Inspection was in June 2023 when the school was found to be ‘excellent’ in all areas. You can read the report here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Mobile phones are not permitted at school.

TRANSPORT

The school does not operate a minibus service. Parents or carers drop and pick children up each day.

FEES: 2025-26

Nursery (rising 3s) fees start at £954 per term for two morning sessions (8.30am-12noon) rising to £4,700 for full time (8.30am-3pm). In Pre-Reception (rising 4s), fees start at £2,385 per term for mornings only, rising to £4,700 for full time. Termly fees for Reception to Year 2 are £5,416 (inclusive of VAT). All fees include lunch.

WORD ON THE GROUND

St Christopher’s is well-loved by parents who say it’s a magical environment full of warmth, laughter and educational fun. Teachers are said to be passionate and committed and fully engaged with children. Pastoral care is top notch – with parents saying the staff really know each child. (Fun fact: two members of staff have been at the school for 30+years.) Parents have also praised the creative and varied curriculum.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Parents who want a close-knit, home-from-home experience for their children. St Christopher’s is a wholesomely down-to-earth school with an emphasis on creativity over cookie-cutter learning, and skills over scores.

Not for: Parents who wrap offspring in cotton wool. Children are encouraged to play outdoors in all weathers, climb trees and get muddy building dens. For those who want a very traditional, formal, hot-housey school, it’s probably not for you. While the school has a reasonably traditional feel, its curriculum is more creative.

Dare to disagree? Look for yourself. St Christopher’s spring open event is Sat 16 May. You can also arrange a tour of the school with the head teacher. Book here.

St Christopher’s School & Nursery, 6 Downs Road, Epsom, Surrey KT18 5HE. Tel: 01372 721807

St Christopher’s School & Nursery, Epsom

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