Cranleigh School is an independent, co-educational, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–19 in South East England. Opened in 1865, it remains on its original campus, around north of the centre of Cranleigh, Surrey. In March 2025, the school, together with the associated prep school, educated a total of 961 pupils between the ages of 7 and 19, of whom 575 were boarders. The current Head is Samantha Price. The school has international campuses in the United Arab Emirates and China.
The earliest proposals for the school were put forward in 1862 by George Cubitt, the MP for West Surrey, and John Sapte, the local parish priest. Henry Woodyer was commissioned to design the buildings and the foundation stone was laid in 1863. Cranleigh School opened to male pupils on 29 September 1865, although the original quad was not finished until 1867. The chapel and dining hall were completed two years later. These original buildings, all designed by Woodyer, were Grade II listed in July 1993.
From an initial total of around 150 boys in 1866, numbers in the school reached 280 by 1892. A joint application with St Catherine's School, Bramley, for a royal charter was made in 1897. The charter was granted the following year, establishing the Corporation of the Cranleigh and Bramley Schools. A major expansion of the school campus began in the early 1910s, with the purchase of additional land and the opening of new science laboratories. Two buildings designed by Edwin Cooper were completed in 1929, providing additional dormitories and a purpose-built auditorium. The first day girls began studying at Cranleigh School in 1971, and the first female boarders were admitted to the sixth form three years later. The school became fully coeducational in 1999.
History Foundation and opening The earliest proposals for a boarding school at Cranleigh, were put forward in 1862 by George Cubitt, the MP for West Surrey, and John Sapte, the local parish priest. A committee of 16 met that November at the Abbot's Hospital in Guildford to develop a prospectus for the new institution. The name "Surrey County School" was chosen and an site was identified, which Cubitt agreed to purchase. The overriding aim was to provide "a sound and thorough public school education, on the principles of the Church of England, for the sons of farmers and others throughout the agricultural districts of Surrey." The motto, , was chosen by Edward White Benson, a member of the founding committee and later the archbishop of Canterbury.
An appeal for funds was made in April 1863, with an initial target of £7000 (equivalent to £ in ) to provide a school for 100 pupils. By the summer, half of this total had been raised, enabling the committee to commission Henry Woodyer to design the new buildings. The foundation stone was laid by Charles Longley, archbishop of Canterbury, on 25 November 1863, and Joseph Merriman, a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, was appointed the first headmaster in early 1865. Robert Quick, who had previously taught at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and Hurstpierpoint College, was chosen as Merriman's deputy.
The school opened to students on 29 September 1865, although the formal opening ceremony did not take place until 12 October. By that date, only the south and east sides of the quad had been completed, which provided a school hall and two classrooms on the ground floor, with dormitories and accommodation for teachers on the first and second floors. Two further classrooms were in temporary use as the dining hall and chapel. Of the 25 pupils who had enrolled in advance, only 18 attended on the first day, but by the summer of 1866, the numbers had increased to 150. The remaining sides of the quad were completed the following year, and the chapel and dining hall were added in 1869.
Late 19th century Merriman continued as headmaster until 1892, during which period the number of pupils increased to over 300. Under his leadership, a new library building was opened in 1874, and six years later, partly in response to an outbreak of scarlet fever, a sanatorium was constructed, funded by Cubitt. Merriman retired to take up the living of Freshwater on the Isle of Wight and was succeeded by George Allen, also a graduate of St John's College, Cambridge, and a former teacher at Wellington and Dulwich Colleges.
During the late 1890s, changes were made to governing structure of the school. The founders had originally chosen the name "Surrey County School", but in 1897, it was amended to "Cranleigh School (Surrey County)" to reflect common usage. A joint application with St Catherine's School, Bramley, was made to secure a royal charter, which was granted on 8 June 1898. Under its terms, the Corporation of the Cranleigh and Bramley Schools was established to assume ownership of the land on which the two institutions were built. Running of the schools continued as before, with operational powers delegated to separate boards of governors. John Honey, a historian of 19th-century education, writes that "by the end of the Victorian period, Cranleigh had gained acceptance among what were perhaps the top fifty public schools [in the country]".
Early 20th century The number of pupils at Cranleigh School declined throughout George Allen's tenure as headmaster, decreasing from 280 in the Summer Term of 1892 to 173 in October 1908. Allen blamed inadequate science facilities and teaching, which he had been unable to improve owing to the fall in income from fees. He resigned in July 1908 to become parish priest of Send near Woking.
Charles Tyler, a graduate of Pembroke College, Cambridge, who had previously taught at Charterhouse and Rossall Schools, was appointed headmaster in December 1908 and took up the post the following month. He proposed a programme of improvement for the school buildings and facilities, with the aim of reversing the decline in student numbers. The expenditure of £600 (equivalent to £ in ) was approved, but by the end of 1909 the cost had almost doubled to £1100. Relations between Tyler and the staff started to deteriorate, and the bursar and six teachers left within four terms of Tyler's arrival. The governors began to lose faith in his leadership and even considered closing the school. By the Summer Term of 1910, the number of pupils had dropped to 154, and the governors decided the following May that a new headmaster should be appointed. Tyler resigned a few days later and formally left his post at the end of the term.
Herbert Rhodes was appointed headmaster in July 1911 and began a major expansion of the school site and improvement in its facilities, some of which had been planned by Tyler. New science laboratories were opened in July 1912, the school purchased an additional of land and the construction of the new preparatory school on the south side of Horseshoe Lane began in February of the following year. In the three years from January 1912 to December 1914, the number of students rose from 168 to 287.
Over 800 former pupils served in the armed forces during the First World War, including Charles Townshend, who commanded the 6th Division of the British Indian Army during the Mesopotamian Campaign, and James Gordon Legge, who was the Chief of the General Staff of the Australian Army. Cranleigh schoolmasters serving in the British Army included John Stanley Purvis, who fought at the Battle of the Somme and wrote the poems High Wood and Chance Memory, and Robert Moline, later the archbishop of Perth, who was awarded the Military Cross. In total, 133 former pupils lost their lives, of whom 15 left Cranleigh after the start of the war. A school war memorial, a white stone cenotaph outside the main entrance, was donated by Hudson Kearley, 1st Viscount Devonport and an Old Cranleighan, and was unveiled in July 1921.
Rhodes continued as headmaster until 1931. Under his leadership, major improvements to the school buildings took place in the 1920s, including the opening refurbishment of two ground floor classrooms to provide a new library and reading room. The Connaught Block, designed by Edwin Cooper and containing additional dormitories, opened in 1929, as did the Devonport Speech Hall, which he also designed. The chapel organ was replaced, a new Headmaster's House and school armoury were built, and electric lighting was installed throughout.
The Guildford–Horsham railway line was opened on 2 October 1865, three days after the school. In the mid-1930s, the Southern Railway introduced the SR V "Schools" class locomotives, all of which were named after public schools. The 37th member of the class, Cranleigh (originally numbered 936), was constructed in June 1935 and was exhibited at that October. Cranleigh was withdrawn from passenger service in December 1962, and the railway line closed in June 1965.
After leading the school for 20 years, Herbert Rhodes left Cranleigh School at the end of the Lent Term 1931. His successor, David Loveday, was immediately presented with the effects of the Great Depression, which resulted in a decline in pupil numbers from around 300 at the end of the 1920s to about 230 in 1934. The pay of teachers was cut in 1932 and the fund for scholarships, which had been introduced in 1929, was reduced. By 1936, the financial position of the school had improved sufficiently to allow money to be raised to build new squash courts, which were opened the following year.
The school began to prepare for the Second World War in January 1939, when a meeting of housemasters discussed the possibility of air raids. That March, a fire-fighting squad of teachers and pupils was formed, and blackout blinds were prepared over the course of the summer. In May 1940, several teachers and older boys joined the Home Guard. That September, each house was provided with an air raid shelter and the dormitories were moved to the ground floor. During the war, vegetable allotments were planted by the pavilion, the golf course became a hay field and around half of the pupils assisted local farmers with the harvest during the holidays. In August 1944, the school buildings sustained minor damage when a V-1 flying bomb landed on one of the playing fields.
Among the former pupils serving in the Second World War were George Kitching, who commanded the 4th Canadian Division at the Normandy landings, and John Worrall, who led No. 32 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain. Out of 25 teaching staff in post at the school in 1939, 14 were called up for active service. In total, 138 Old Cranleighans died during the Second World War, and the school created a war memorial at one end of the Reading Room, honouring both them and those who had died in the First World War, dedicated in June 1949.
Late 20th century Loveday continued as headmaster until April 1954, when he became the archdeacon of Dorking. He was succeeded by Henry March, who had previously been a teacher at Charterhouse School. March attempted to raise academic standards and to improve exam results. He also introduced art to the curriculum and encouraged the development of the school's musical activities. However, his relationship with the teaching staff was poor and he resigned in April 1959 after five years in post. March's deputy, H. P. Jacob, served as acting headmaster for the next four terms.
David Emms, previously a teacher at Uppingham School, took up the position of headmaster in September 1960. Fagging, the practice of junior boys acting as personal servants to senior pupils, was abolished at Cranleigh School in 1964.