Cranleigh School is a

Private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

(English fee-charging boarding and

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

) in the village of

Cranleigh Cranleigh is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Waverley, Surrey, England. It lies southeast of Guildford on a minor road east of the A281, which links Guildford with Horsham. It is in the north-west corner ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

History

It was opened on 29 September 1865 as a boys' school 'to provide a sound and plain education, on the principles of the Church of England, and on the public school system, for the sons of farmers and others engaged in commercial pursuits'. It grew rapidly and by the 1880s had more than 300 pupils although it declined over the next 30 years and in 1910 numbers dropped to 150. Cranleigh started to admit girls in the early 1970s and became fully

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

in 1999. The current headmistress is Samantha Price with former East Housemaster, Simon Bird, as the deputy head. In 2009 the ''

Good Schools Guide ''The Good Schools Guide'' is a guide to British schools, both state and private. The guide's contributors are predominantly parents, but include researchers and former headteachers. It uses a conversational tone. Selection of schools is made ...

'' described the school as 'An all-rounder’s paradise, yes, but the academic offering can stand up to almost any school in the land' The school's academic block, the van Hasselt Centre was opened by Kate Adie, the Trevor Abbott Sports Centre was opened by Sir

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

and the West House was opened by Baroness Greenfield. Recent building projects have included two academic blocks, two girls' boarding houses, refurbishment of the art studios, and a remodelled entrance. Cranleigh School also has a sister school based in Abu Dhabi which opened in September 2014 and three schools in China.

Notable alumni

Former pupils of the school may join the Old Cranleighan Society. About 6,500 past pupils are currently members. The Old Cranleighan Sports Club in Thames Ditton in Surrey is owned by the Society. * Anthony Ainley (actor) * Tony Anholt (actor) *

Olivia Attwood Olivia Jade Attwood Dack (born 2 May 1991) is an English television personality, presenter and model. In 2017, she appeared on the third series of '' Love Island'' and later became a regular cast member on the ITVBe reality series '' The Only Way ...

(TV personality) * Stacy Aumonier (writer) *

Thomas Alexander Barns Thomas Alexander Barns FZS FES (4 June 1881 – 4 March 1930), known in his private life as Alexander Barns, was an English businessman, explorer, big game hunter, author, artist, naturalist and lecturer connected with the opening up of Cent ...

(explorer, big game hunter, author) * Sir Nicholas Blake (High Court judge) * Hugh Blaker (artist, collector, connoisseur, dealer in Old Masters, museum curator, writer on art) * Derek Bourgeois (composer) *

Luke Braid Luke Gary Braid (born 5 October 1988) is a rugby union footballer who plays for the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland RFU, Auckland in the ITM Cup. He plays as a Rugby union positions, loose forward. Braid has also played for ...

(Rugby Player, Junior All Black and IRB Young Player of the Year 2008) * Sir Gordon Brunton (industrialist) * David Buggé (cricketer and banker) * Sir David Calcutt (lawyer) * Harry Calder (cricketer) * Rob Curling (television presenter and journalist) * Michael Cochrane (actor) *

Peter Conder Peter Conder, OBE (20 March 1919 – 8 October 1993) was a British ornithologist and conservationist known predominantly for his contribution as Director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Early life Peter Conder was born in Str ...

(ornithologist and conservationist) * Frank Cadogan Cowper (artist) * Sewell Stokes (novelist and playwright) * Christopher Trace, the first presenter of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's long-running ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

'' children's programme * James William Webb-Jones (Choral conductor; Headmaster of St George's School, Windsor Castle; Headmaster of

Wells Cathedral School Wells Cathedral School is an independent co-educational boarding and day school for 2–18 year olds located in Wells, Somerset, Wells, Somerset, England, which provides an all-round education alongside specialist music and chorister training. T ...

) * David Westcott (GB hockey captain) * Isabelle Petter (Great Britain hockey player and Olympic bronze medalist) * Will Barnicoat (U23 Men's European Cross Country Champion, U20 Men's European Cross Country Champion) * Oscar Beard (Harlequins and England Rugby) * Gregory Slade (Great Britain Wheelchair Tennis Player and Paralympian)

Notable masters

* Steve Batchelor (Great Britain hockey player and Olympic gold medallist) * Neil Bennett (England rugby player) * Revd. William Booth (clergyman) * Luis Cernuda (Spanish poet) * Andrew Corran (cricketer) * David Emms (rugby player, headmaster) * Dan Fox (England and GB hockey player) *

Roger Knight Roger David Verdon Knight (born 6 September 1946) is an English administrator, cricketer and schoolmaster. He was awarded the OBE in 2007. He is an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and was President of the club from 2 ...

(cricketer) * Charles W L Parker (England cricketer, Gloucestershire cricketer) * Sir Michael Redgrave (actor) * Guy Waller (cricketer; headmaster between 1997 and 2014) * Hilary Davan Wetton (Conductor) * Mike Worsley (England rugby player)

Connaught Gallery

Gallery used to display local and national artists together with sixth form students.

Southern Railway Schools Class

The thirty seventh steam

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

( Engine 936) in the Southern Railway's Class V, built in 1934 was named "Cranleigh" after the school. This class of locomotive was known as the Schools Class because all 40 of the class were named after English public schools.

References

External links

*
OC Society website

OC Cricket Club website

OC Hockey Club website

OC Rugby Football Club website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranleigh School Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Private schools in Surrey Educational institutions established in 1865 Boarding schools in Surrey 1865 establishments in England Cranleigh