WHAT? WHERE?

Cranleigh School is an independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13 to 18 years on the outskirts of Cranleigh, Surrey. Built in 1865 – originally as a school for the sons of local farmers – it sits on an immaculately kept 280-acre site. A dramatic red brick Victorian building, known simply as The Quad, is the architectural centrepiece sitting atop a gentle hill up a tree-lined driveway. It was designed and built by architect Henry Woodyer, who also built several stunning churches throughout the south-east including St Martin’s Church in Dorking and St Peter’s Church in Hascombe.

A beautiful red brick neo-gothic Victorian Chapel was built alongside The Quad – also designed by Henry Woodyer – and the two buildings are now connected by a cloister.

Cranleigh has just shy of 700 students with a 60:40 ratio of boys to girls. Most pupils live within a 30 mile radius of the school including south London. Just under half of the students have come from Cranleigh Prep, across the road, and about 2% come from overseas. The main entry point is 13, but Cranleigh offer places at 11+ for entry at 13 to give families certainty. There’s also an intake at 16+ for the Sixth Form but it’s highly competitive.

The school is broadly academically selective, conducting a holistic review of prospective students and placing great value on those who will try hard, participate in school life and contribute to the friendly atmosphere within the houses and the school. Every child is invited for interview, regardless of how they fare in assessments, and priority goes to those with siblings.

Cranleigh prides itself on being a value-added school, meaning the focus is not squarely on exam results, but on progress.

FACILITIES

There’s a campus-ey feel to Cranleigh School, with academic buildings, sports facilities and boarding houses spread across the site. It’s unashamedly grand – both in the historic beauty of the Victorian buildings and in the slick purpose-built additions that have come later.

The Emms Building (named after a former headmaster) houses science labs and the language centre, as well as a lecture hall that seats 150 and a light and airy gallery where exhibitions are held. The van Hasselt Centre which opened in 2018 (also named after a former headmaster) includes classrooms and social spaces for senior students.

Part of the original Quad building is the Connaught Block, home to smaller academic classrooms, and there also the original Dining Hall (reminiscent of the Great Hall at Hogwarts), the Williams Library and Reading Room. Nearby in a separate building, is Speech Hall used for plays, concerts, lectures and public events. There are also eight single-sex boarding houses.

SPORT

Girls playing cricket at Cranleigh School, Surrey

The huge acreage at Cranleigh School means the sports facilities dazzle. There more pitches than you can shake a hockey stick at, and then some! Name any sport and it’s probably at Cranleigh, with facilities to match.

There’s almost too much to list, but let’s start with three full-size artificial pitches (one with floodlights), nine astro courts, eight netball courts, 12 tennis courts, four squash courts, six Fives courts and athletics facilities including a discus/javelin cage.

For rugby, football and cricket, Cranleigh has 10 grass pitches (yes, 10!) including an international standard 1st XV pitch, five outdoor cricket squares, an all-weather match pitch and 13 all-weather practice nets. There’s a cricket pavilion and an indoor cricket bubble. It’s a lot.

And the list goes on. Cranleigh also has an on-site equestrian centre with two sand schools, two country courses, 30 stables and all-year grass turn-out. There’s also a nine-hole golf course and putting green. Plus, there’s an Outdoor Education centre with an indoor climbing wall and rowing machines. You’ll also find an indoor heated pool and fitness centre, an indoor sports centre with badminton, volleyball, netball, basketball and tennis courts, five-a-side football and hockey pitches, and a dance studio.

Safe to say students here aren’t left wanting. And while there’s an elite sports programme, the nurturing ethos encourages everyone to take part.

Cranleigh wants all pupils to develop a love of sport, and prides itself on taking sport seriously on all levels. Children who play in the F teams have the same experiences (and coaching) as those in the A teams. But while the sport-for-all approach is strong, you can’t ignore the fact that there are serious sporting successes. There’s a bulging cabinet of national trophies. And pupils also compete at international level in hockey, cricket, rugby, English dressage, show jumping and Formula One. That said, a down-to-earth attitude prevails, and Cranleigh remains quietly proud of the school and its pupils’ achievements.

THE ARTS

Pupils at Cranleigh School, Surrey performing Shakespeare in Love on stage

The arts – both performing and creative – are also a big deal, and resources dazzle in this area as well. The Woodyer Art Studios includes six studios for painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and ceramics, plus a separate Sixth Form studio. The Design Engineering block has three workshops and all the techy gadgetry you could want.

The Merriman Music School, named after the school’s first headmaster, has a 100-seat recital hall, a recording studio, an insulated rock room room (for band practice), and numerous teaching and practice rooms. As well as the Speech Hall, there’s also the Vivian Cox Theatre which seats 100 and is a more intimate performance space, offering theatre in the round.

It’s inevitable then – given the quality of what’s on offer – that pupils here are a dramatic bunch. Like the sport-for-all programme, Cranleigh offers an arts-for-all programme. And the accomplishments of all pupils – from those in leading roles to those backstage – are celebrated.

Musically, there are some impressive figures, with 186 pupils learning an instrument. That’s more than 25% of the school and well above the national average. The school has 72 peripatetic music teachers.

ACADEMICS

The school takes a philosophical approach to learning, with a focus on how pupils learn rather than how the teachers’ teach. The school advocates a learning technique that involves asking questions that lead to a deeper level of thinking in the belief that this will prepare students not just for a future in the workplace but also in the wider world.

In 2023, GCSE results were strong. Almost one-third of the cohort achieved an average of grade 8.0 or higher and well over half of the cohort achieved 8 or more grade 9-7.

In 2024, 14 per cent of A Level pupils achieved the top A* grade, 43 per cent of grades at A*-A, 78 per cent of grades at A*-B and an overall pass rate of 100 per cent.

Most Sixth Formers at Cranleigh take an EPQ (Extended Project Qualifications) alongside studying for three A Levels. This year’s results were excellent, with 43 per cent of pupils gaining A*/A and 73 per cent of all EPQs graded at A*-B.

While the school commits 100% to Oxbridge and Russell Group universities if this is right for pupils they know that there is a world beyond – including universities abroad – and staff will help with the application process. In recent years about 80% of pupils have gone to Russell Group universities of which Durham, Exeter, Edinburgh and Bristol have been the most popular. Oxford Brookes is also a popular destination, and in recent years pupils have accepted places at Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Harvard in the US, and McGill in Canada.

PASTORAL CARE

A strong multi-layered system is in place which starts with the house system where there are two full-time matrons in each house, who were described to me as ‘the glue that hold everything together’ offering reassurance and advice, but pupil wellbeing is also monitored by all school staff, in particular the tutors.

A peer mentoring system adds another layer of support, and there’s a 24-hour medical centre staffed by a team of nurses, plus two counsellors. There’s also a big brother / sister programme that pairs Years 9, 10 and 11 pupils with Sixth Formers.

Pupil voice is another important consideration, and there are several committees including a Diversity Alliance, Eco group and a Charity group. Recently the school has designated some bathrooms as gender neutral and introduced plasters in a diverse range of skin tones. Regular talks are also being given on various topics to help empower pupils.

One third of pupils are on the SEN register, however only about 80 of those pupils receive additional support. As part of that each is given an Individual Education Plan to track their learning journey. There’s a separate Learning Support Centre.

BOARDING

Although Cranleigh accepts boarding and day pupils, in spirit it’s full boarding – and everything revolves around the House system. Every pupil – day and boarding – has a place in one of the school’s eight single-sex Houses. Each pupil has their own study space – which promotes a fantastically inclusive feel. As well as regular social events, pupils have plenty of downtime, so it’s lively and fun, and warm and homely.

Each House has its a Housemaster or Housemistress, and a Deputy, who live on-site with their families and pets. There’s also a Non-resident Deputy, Matrons and Tutors, so the level of pastoral care here is high. While there are lessons and sporting fixtures on Saturdays, most boarders go home at weekends after these activities.

LITTLIES

Cranleigh Prep School, a separate co-ed day and boarding school for children aged 7 to 13, is across the road. Read our review here.

THE HEAD

Samantha Price, head teacher at Cranleigh School in Surrey

Samantha Price arrived as head teacher at Cranleigh School in September 2024, taking over from Martin Reader who has been at the helm for 10 years. She comes to Cranleigh from Benenden School, a girls’ boarding school in Kent, in where she has been head for just over a decade.

Samantha’s career has spanned boys’ and girls’ schools and co-ed boarding and day schools. She taught at Reading Blue Coat School, was a housemistress at The King’s School Canterbury, deputy head at Hereford Cathedral School and then Head at both Godolphin School and Benenden.

Educated at Malvern Girls’ College and Edinburgh University, where she read History of Art, Samantha is passionate about boarding education (herself a boarder at Malvern Girls’ – which she loved).

She says the Adolescent years are challenging, so schools have a vital role to play in nurturing and strengthening their pupils, building confidence and self-esteem. “We want children to reach their potential and Cranleigh has a strong track record of helping its pupils to exceed their expectations academically. We are not a narrowly selective school yet we produce outstanding results.” She also recognises the importance of preparing students for the future – for real life, work as well as university.

Samantha is married with a daughter and a son. Her husband is an Army Chaplain.

QUIRKS

The school’s motto ‘Ex Cultu Robur’ – From Culture Comes Strength – informs everything about the school and serves as a daily reminder (the words are seen throughout the school) that there’s more to education than just exam results. It’s the Cranleigh way.

WRAP-AROUND CARE

Combined Cadet Force at Cranleigh School, Surrey

With an ethos centred around the value of all-round education, it’s not surprising there’s a long list of extra-curricular activities. These include outdoor educational pursuits, performing and creative arts clubs and societies. Cranleigh also offers students the chance to undertake the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and to join the Combined Cadet Force.

ISI REPORT

The most recent Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) report was in November 2022 and Cranleigh was deemed excellent across the board. Read the report here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Mobile phones are banned in Year 9, and as pupils go up the years, phone access increased. For all pupils, except the Year 13s, phones are handed in at bedtime. Phones should not be visible during the working day – and this rule applies to pupils as well as teachers.

TRANSPORT

Buses run from south-west London on Sunday evenings and Monday mornings.

FEES

Day fees for the 2024/25 academic year are £39,795 annually and boarding is £48,795 a year. A 20% discount is offered for the third sibling and 30% for subsequent siblings at Cranleigh School or Cranleigh Prep.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents I spoke to love the family feel of the school which they say is really quite special. They also appreciate the opportunities afforded by such amazing facilities. For a school of just 700 students they are, frankly, out of this world. Parents love that their children have access to so many opportunities in addition to the great education.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: Parents who value a school with a serious sense of community, both within the school grounds and beyond. Cranleigh has high academic ambitions. But while sport is at the forefront of much of life here, drama and music hold their own too. It is also a school that’s VERY easy on the eye.

Not for: Children lead busy lives at Cranleigh, so for kids who like their time to be their own it’s probably not the best choice. Life at Cranleigh is based very much around the school campus, and weekends are packed with activities – even for children who don’t board.

Dare to disagree? There‘s an open event on Sat 12 Oct, and a Sixth Form open event on Sat 21 Sept. Book here.

Cranleigh School, Horseshoe Lane, Cranleigh, GU6 8QQ. Tel: 01483 273666. cranleigh.org

Cranleigh School, Cranleigh

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