Frensham Heights School

Frensham Heights is a distinctive day and boarding school for children from 3 to 18 years old, priding itself on being refreshingly different since 1925.

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.

We have been a coeducational school since our founding. It’s not unusual to find coed schools nowadays, but it’s perhaps less common to find one with mixed boarding houses. As with our lack of uniform and first name basis, it is something we do a bit differently, but as with both of those, it’s not really that unusual in modern society. It is natural for boys and girls to share homes and grow up together. As with most things at Frensham, we understand that one size never fits all so we have a few different boarding options to cover whatever works for your family: full, weekly, flexi 3 day and occasional.

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 75.3% A*-B at A Level and 53% 9-7 at GCSE in 2024.

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 with the timetable for Years 7 to 9 including weekly sessions of ceramics, art and DT.  The school has recently launched the Frensham Heights Arts Awards - a bespoke Sixth Form programme which prepares students for the industry and immerse them in their artistic discipline whilst supporting them academically to gain their qualifications. The awards are open to all students who are interested in studying one or more Performing or Creative Arts subject at Sixth Form.

Alongside the rich curriculum run endless opportunities for wider experiences outside the classroom. From specialist days, which take students off timetable to fully immerse in a subject, to longer term projects like the agro-ecological kitchen garden and the Year 8 self-governing village. The extracurricular offering is immense with clubs running at lunchtime and after school. The opportunities are constantly growing and developing to stay relevant with the world around us and provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to prepare them for life beyond school.

“It’s a school that really broadens horizons by allowing each child to be themself, to thrive outside a box. For those who would naturally be happy in a conventional box, it encourages them to try things they might not have considered or had the courage to try before.” - Frensham parent

Our co-ed boarding houses are 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.

Frensham Heights offers a rich, modern education which prepares young people for life ahead while allowing them to grow up without unnecessary added pressures. They can be who they are, thrive in their own way and follow their own passions.

“In the absence of hierarchical prefect structures, students naturally develop strong leadership skills…” ISI Inspection, 2022