In 2023, Caterham was awarded 'Best Independent School of the Year' in the United Kingdom by the Times Educational Supplement.[2] In the same year, it was the first and only school in the UK to receive three 'Key Areas of Strength' in its latest ISI inspection.[3] It is also an 'Apple Distinguished School'.[4]
In August 2025, The Times reported that Caterham achieved the highest percentage of GCSE grade 9s across all co-ed private schools in Surrey and Kent, placing it sixth in the UK.[5]
In September 2025, Caterham was shortlisted for the 2026 'Tatler Schools Guide' as one of the five best public schools in the country.[6]
Campus
Caterham's campus is on the edge of its estate which extends to around 200 acres, making it one of the largest estates of any school in Surrey.[7] It is set within Harestone Valley, and a large part of the estate consists of Oldpark Wood. The school owns the large 'Hare stone' that named the valley, which was first recorded in 1605 but is believed to be older.[8]
'Viewpoint', as seen from Oldpark Wood, on the edge of Caterham's estate
Old School
E.C. Robins' 1884 building now no longer houses any academic departments except Geography, instead being the administrative centre of Caterham. Located off the cloisters is the Wilberforce Hall - Caterham's former formal dining hall - now named after the abolitionistWilliam Wilberforce who was a founding governor of Caterham in 1811. The Wilberforce is notable for its illumination by seven Arts-and-Crafts stained glass windows across both sides. It is now a space for lectures, concerts (choirs, piano recitals or small instrumental groups), fashion shows[9] and museum exhibitions[10].
Adjoining the Old School is Headmaster's House which was, traditionally, the residence of Caterham's headmasters. In the 1940s it was the home of the historian D.G.E. Hall. To the front of it is the Headmaster's Garden, which was Caterham's formal garden. It is now much reduced.
Caterham's library is housed in its Memorial Hall, built in 1925 to commemorate the Old Caterhamians killed in the First World War. It was designed by the architect Walter Monckton Keesey OC. Albert P. Maggs OC of the London antiquarian booksellers Maggs Bros later contributed to the building's conversion into the library.[11]
The Memorial Hall at Caterham
Performing Arts Centre
Caterham's performing arts centre was designed by Miller Bourne, finished in 2015 and opened by Simon Callow CBE. The building is architecturally notable for its distinctive 'brise soleil' blades on the façade which are illuminated at night.[12]
On the ground floor is a studio for dance and orchestral rehearsals, on the first floor is an open concourse, the Deayton Theatre of 67 seats and the Liu Recording Studio and on the first and second floors the building incorporates the older Humphreys Theatre of 338 seats.[13] It also houses the Department of Drama and connects it with that of Music.
Outside, at the front of the centre is a small amphitheatre and to the side of it is the Orchard Theatre of 72 seats, located on the site of Caterham's orchard.[13]
The centre opens to the wider community on occasions, such as for the school's History Festival in November, visiting productions or for events for local primary schools. Poet, broadcaster and former Children's LaureateMichael Rosen hosted an event at the centre for pupils from local primary schools in Caterham's East Surrey Learning Partnership on literacy skills.[15]
Davey Building
The Davey Building was opened in 2007 by Lord Carey of Clifton, the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury and named to mark the end of Mr. Rob Davey's tenure as Headmaster. On the ground floor is the Refectory which replaced the school's Victorian dining hall (now the Wilberforce Hall). On the first floor is the Department of Physics, on the second is Chemistry and on the third is Biology. Each department has five laboratories.[16]
History
Caterham today is the product of a co-ed merger between the Congregational School (formally renamed 'Caterham' in the mid-1920s) for boys and Eothen School for girls.[17]
The Congregational School ('Caterham')
Caterham School was founded as the Congregational School in 1811 in Lewisham, by John Townsend to provide a boarding education for the sons of Congregational Ministers.[18] The abolitionist politician and philanthropist William Wilberforce was a governor of the school from its foundation until his death in 1833.[19]
By 1884, the school had outgrown its premises, and the 114 boys along with their teaching staff moved to the present site in the North Downs in Surrey. In 1890, Caterham School opened its doors to the sons of laymen and to day boys. Notably, the British historian D.G.E. Hall was Headmaster of Caterham from 1934 until 1949.[20]
Eothen
In 1995, after 184years as a boys' day and boarding school, it merged with Eothen School for girls (founded by the Misses Pye in 1892) to become a co-educational school. Girls had been admitted to the sixth form education since 1981, but the merger integrated the schools and enabled co-education to be offered to pupils aged 3years and upward. Upon merger, the school adopted the motto of Eothen School[21] - prior to this merger, the motto was "Omnia Vinces Perseverando" ("Thou shalt overcome everything through perseverance").[22]
Scholarships and bursaries
The school may award a scholarship if the applicant performs exceptionally well on the entrance exam tests. The scholarships can be for academics, art, design, innovation, music, sport, performing arts, or all-rounder. The academic scholarships are up to 30% off the school fees.[23] The school also has a bursaries scheme for children of United Reformed Church ministers, for families in the armed forces or those on a low income.[24]
Publications
Caterham produces a number of in-house publications. The earliest of these date back to January 1888 with the 'Magazine of the Congregational School, Caterham Valley' which continues to this day with the annual review named 'The Caterhamian'.[25] 'Omnia' (the first word of the original motto) is the magazine for Old Caterhamians.
There are three longstanding, annual student-led publications. 'Cat Among the Pigeons' is the magazine for the arts and humanities which named after a Speech Day prize established by Geoffrey Pidgeon OC, an MI6 officer and later author. 'Quantum Ultimatum' is Caterham's academic journal for the science and the magazine of its Moncrieff-Jones Society, named after Sir Alan Moncrieff CBE OC, who established the first premature-baby unit in 1947. 'Preview' is Caterham's magazine for politics. The 2010 issue of Preview was launched at the Palace of Westminster with the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow giving a speech. That year, MPs David Laws (Liberal Democrats), Michael Fallon (Conservative) and Nigel Farage (UKIP) contributed articles to the magazine.[26][27]
History Festival
Since 2023, the Department of History at Caterham organises the annual History Festival in November, held in Caterham's Performing Arts Centre. It is open to the wider educational community, with students from all schools admitted by ticket for free. The day-long event involves lectures from or interviews with renowned historians and then signings of their books.[17]
There are 9 school houses at Caterham, 6 mixed for day pupils, 2 for boarding boys and 1 for boarding girls.[30] All are named after notable places associated with the school except for the boys boarding houses, named after two people associated with the school.
House
Type
Aldercombe
Day
Beech Hanger
Boarding (girls)
Harestone
Day
Lewisham
Day
Newington
Day
Ridgefield
Day
Townsend
Boarding (junior boys)
Underwood
Day
Viney
Boarding (senior boys)
Headmasters
Ceri Jones is the fourteenth Headmaster of Caterham (or once called 'The Congregational School').
Notably, the British historian D.G.E. Hall was Headmaster of Caterham from 1934 until 1949.[20]
Caterham aims to run and develop programmes to contribute its resources to the local community. It founded the 'East Surrey Learning Partnership' (ESLP), providing curriculum support to eight local primary schools.[31] It also runs the 'Saturday Plus' programme each weekend which focuses on providing resources to prepare local primary school children for academically selective independent or grammar schools.[32] Sixth Form pupils also volunteer to regularly host Clifton Hill School, a local primary for children with learning difficulties.[33]
Since 2006, Caterham has supported Lerang' wa School in Tanzania.[34]
LAE
In 2012, Caterham along with Eton, Brighton College and five other independent schools supported the founding of the London Academy of Excellence (LAE) in Stratford. One of LAE's school houses was therefore named 'Caterham'. LAE pupils are supported by Caterham's careers and university mentoring and 'CaterhamConnected' network.[35]
The Caterham Family of Schools
In 2023, Caterham founded the 'Caterham Family of Schools' which encompassed its own prep school, Caterham Prep and Copthorne Prep. In December 2024, The Hawthorns School joined. Copthorne and Hawthorns maintain their own independent management whilst benefitting from an established connection to facilitate the admission process to Caterham. The group also aims to collaborate on developing digital learning in their curriculums.[36]
Shirley Goss House, which now houses Caterham Prep.
The Foxburrow estate, which now houses Caterham Pre-Prep.
The Hawthorns School, a member of the Caterham Family of Schools. It is housed at Pendell Court.
CaterhamConnected
The school operates 'CaterhamConnected', its own professional and social media network for alumni, staff, parents and Sixth Form pupils from Caterham and its partnership schools.[37] As well as the digital platform, CaterhamConnected runs 'Insight' events for the community, which take place globally.[38]
The administrative centre is Oxted. The largest town is Caterham. Three of the post towns have urban centres Caterham, Godstone and Oxted. Lingfield and Warlingham are major villages which have post town status. The others are outside the area.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
