Nestled on 125 acres in the beautiful Surrey Hills just 40 miles from London, we offer a coeducational day and boarding experience. An ISI inspection in 2022 rated Frensham Heights as ‘Excellent’ in both students’ academic progress and personal development (please read the full report here). We achieve exceptional academic standards as part of a much richer experience, through a broad curriculum and the equality given to all subjects.
With a more informal setting and smaller classes, the teachers and students really get to know each other, literally on a first-name basis. Teachers don’t have to spend time telling students to check their ties or pull up their socks. Instead they have conversations and build relationships based on genuine, mutual respect and interest. Relationships that spark learning. Academically, we are one of the most successful progressive schools in the UK, with 67.5% A*-B at A-Level and 61.5% 9-6 at GCSE in 2022.
We offer a rigorous academic curriculum, balanced equally with a diverse outdoor ed and sports programme and an outstanding creative and performing arts offering. A limited view of sport can’t and won’t challenge and engage every child. It is only natural that Frensham has always respected the importance of sport in many forms. Students can choose to follow a competitive route, taking part in numerous fixtures against other schools, or get involved in a wide array of alternative activities from dodgeball to wakeboarding to dry slope skiing. Dance, drama, music and creative arts are all within the curriculum for all students up through Year 9. The timetable for Years 7 to 9 includes weekly sessions of ceramics, art and DT. Our students received 100% A*-C in all performing and creative arts A-Levels in 2022. Frensham is a place where children can be really academic and truly creative.
Boarding at Frensham Heights
Frensham Heights has two co-ed boarding houses which feel like big families, mimicking family life with busy weeks and Saturdays and lazy Sundays. It can’t be home, but it’s as close as you can get without being at home. As they grow up, there is a natural progression of what is expected from the youngest through to the oldest – a sliding scale of structure, freedom and responsibility. The junior boarding house offers occasional, flexi, weekly and full boarding to 11 – 15 year olds.
Girls are on one floor with boys on the other and there are communal co-ed social areas downstairs. Tech is handed in at night and students complete their prep together before heading to varied evening activities. The senior boarding house offers occasional, flexi, weekly and full boarding to 15 – 18 year olds alongside day studies for Sixth Formers. Boys are on one wing with girls on the other and there are communal co-ed areas in between. There is a private outdoor area and frequent social evenings. There is a varied schedule of evening and weekend activities for students to take part in along with shopping trips and inclusion in all the extracurricular offerings of the wider school. Meals can be taken in the main dining hall. There are also kitchens in the boarding houses for baking, snacks etc. Each boarding house has a dedicated boarding staff team including a house parent and residential boarding staff. They are supported by a wider boarding team living on the school site.
