Surbiton County Grammar was a school in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it h ...

on the borders of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Surrey. Established in the 1920s, the school later moved to

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cro ...

and changed its name to Esher County Grammar School. The last grammar school pupils were admitted in 1974, and by 1979 the site had become a sixth form college. The school was attended by boys from the whole of north Surrey.

History

Surbiton

The school was established in the mid 1920s. Until 1965 it was located on Surbiton Hill Road in

. The three main buildings were large Victorian mansions called Braemar (where pupils began their school lives), Aysgarth and Albury (School) houses together with their grounds and outbuildings. A stables block once housed a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

classroom. In the early sixties Aysgarth and Braemar were demolished and replaced by purpose-built units. It was known for its rugby, chess and bridge teams.

Thames Ditton

A new Headmaster, Eric Waller, took over in September 1965, ahead of the move to new premises in Weston Green Road

in the spring of 1966. Boys in all forms throughout the school assisted with the move, packing crates at the

site and unpacking crates at Thames Ditton, which took about a week. The form registers had to be "adjusted" to show attendance as if school had been running normally. The school at its new location was later renamed as Esher County Grammar. The school had always admitted boys into its sixth form from other local schools which did not have their own sixth form, and the long-term plan was to evolve the school into a sixth form college. The first major change was in September 1971 when the school started admitting girls into the lower sixth. From September 1974 the external sixth form intake was increased and the final entry of grammar school pupils took place, so that from September 1979 it became a wholly sixth form college. From around 1977, the name had changed again to

Esher College Esher Sixth Form College is an open access, non-selective 16-19 Academy located in Thames Ditton, Surrey, England. Rated as "outstanding" in September 2022 by Ofsted, it now has around 2100 students enrolled, with a catchment drawn from north ...

, which still exists on the same site in Thames Ditton today. The old site on Surbiton Hill is now used by

Hollyfield School Hollyfield School is a co-educational academy school located in Surbiton, in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London, England. There are approximately 1,120 students on roll, with 220 in the sixth form. School uniform is compulsory at ...

Day Houses

All boys were members of one of four day houses which were named after dignitaries in some way associated with

Heads

* AGF Willis - 16th Sep 1925 to Dec 1952 * A.J. Doig - Jan 1953 to Jul 1964 * Eric Waller - Sep 1965 to early 1980s

Alumni

Tony Arbour Anthony Francis Arbour JP (born 30 August 1945), commonly known as Tony Arbour, is a British Conservative Party politician. From 2000 until his retirement in 2021, he was a member of the London Assembly representing South West London and is a ...

, Conservative member of the GLA for

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and transport spokesman, and Leader of Richmond Council from 2002-6 *

Michael Basman Michael John Basman (16 March 1946 – 26 October 2022) was an English chess player, chess author and International Master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1980. Basman was a prolific writer, who made many contributions to the ...

, chess player * John Cooper CBE, motor engineer, pioneer of the rear-engined racing car and developer of the Mini Cooper *

Felix Dennis Felix Dennis (27 May 1947 – 22 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent time ...

, publisher * Rt Rev

Anthony Charles Dumper Anthony Charles Dumper (4 October 192327 August 2012) was the suffragan Bishop of Dudley from 1977 until 1993 and the first area bishop under the Worcester diocese area scheme from 1993. He was an Anglican priest in Malaysia and Singapore fro ...

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from 1977–93 *

Peter Heaton-Jones Peter Heaton-Jones (born 1963) is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and broadcaster. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament for North Devon at the 2015 general election. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary ...

, former Member of Parliament and broadcaster (Esher County Grammar) * Prof Brian Juden, professor of French 1970–1985 at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, ...

* David Lock, former Member of Parliament (Esher County Grammar) * Maj-Gen Rowley Mans CBE *

Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in ...

, photographer *

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, DJ and music producer (Esher County Grammar) * Graham Pirnie, Ambassador to Paraguay from 1995-8 * Prof Peter Pulzer, Gladstone Professor of Government and Public Administration from 1985-96 to

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, novelist (writing as Alexander Kent) *

Rear Adm Rear may refer to: Animals *Rear (horse), when a horse lifts its front legs off the ground *In stockbreeding, to breed and raise Humans *Parenting (child rearing), the process of promoting and supporting a child from infancy to adulthood *Gende ...

Hugh Rickard CBE, Chief Executive from 2004-6 of the

Royal Anniversary Trust The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are a biennially awarded series of prizes awarded to universities and colleges in the further and higher education sectors within the United Kingdom. Uniquely it forms part of the Bri ...

Andrew Stunell Robert Andrew Stunell, Baron Stunell, (born 24 November 1942) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. Stunell was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hazel Grove, from the 1997 general election until he stood down at the 2 ...

, Former Lib Dem MP and now a member of the House of Lords *

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, marathon runner, age group record holder * David Wright OBE, Ambassador to Qatar from 1997-2002 *

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, Zoologist

Old Surbitonians RFC - Cobham Rugby Football Club

The club was formed in 1930 as Old Surbitonians RFC by the first group of school leavers from Surbiton County Grammar School for Boys. In 1949, as a memorial to those Old Boys who perished in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the grounds at Fairmile Lane,

Cobham Cobham may refer to: Geography Towns or districts * Cobham, Kent, England * Cobham, Surrey, England * Cobham, South Australia, a former town in Australia * Cobham, Albemarle County, Virginia, United States * Cobham, Surry County, Virginia, U ...

, were purchased. After the school moved from its original site in Surbiton to Esher as a boys' grammar school, The Braemar Club was created to honour the old school building. The change of name of the school to Esher County Grammar School and more prominently the evolution of the old school into a mixed sixth form college had a significant and detrimental impact on the flow of young players into the Club, which was one of the driving forces behind the club being one of the first in the country to set up a Mini Rugby section, in the Golden Jubilee year of 1980. Mini Rugby spawned a sizeable and flourishing Youth section, which has produced national Champions at various levels. The club was placed in the new 1st division of the new Surrey Leagues when the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It prom ...

introduced League Rugby in 1987. Prior to this, the club had enjoyed much success, including a famous unbeaten season of 1963-64, and a Surrey Cup Final appearance in 1976. The club changed its name in 1989 to Cobham Rugby Football Club, to both identify more closely with the immediate surrounding area, and to signify the change to an open membership club. Recent years have seen the clubs' steady progress through the leagues, with four promotions in six seasons in the Leagues since 1987, and success elsewhere in winning the Surrey Shield in 1999. The 1sts now play in London South Division 2 following successive promotions under the stewardship of Head Coach, Billy Davison. Despite its name change, it still recognises its heritage and association with the old school.Club History of Cobham Rugby Club
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References

External links

Chat Forum of School Alumni, 1950 - 1970
{{authority control Defunct schools in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Defunct grammar schools in England 1965 disestablishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1965 Surbiton