Chinthurst School is an independent co-educational nursery, pre-preparatory and
preparatory school in semi-rural surroundings in the village of
Tadworth
Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population o ...
, Surrey, England, 15 miles south of the centre of London.
As a member of the RGS Group, the school is associated with
Reigate Grammar School
Reigate Grammar School is a 2–18 mixed independent day school in Reigate, Surrey, England. It was established in 1675 by Henry Smith.
History
The school was founded as a free school for poor boys in 1675 by Alderman Henry Smith with Jon Will ...
and
Reigate St Mary's School
Reigate St Mary's Preparatory and Choir School is a mixed independent prep and choir school in Reigate, Surrey, England.
The school was established in 1949 to serve as the choir school of St Mary's Church, Reigate, and still has that function. ...
. Its pupils' ages range from two to eleven years.
School characteristics
Approximately 200 boys and girls are enrolled at the school,
which has the corporate structure of a charitable trust and is a member of the
Independent Association of Preparatory Schools
The Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS, formerly Independent Association of Preparatory Schools) is a schools association, representing around 670 preparatory schools.
The majority of IAPS' schools are in the UK, with other locations ...
. Entry is non-selective, and classes are small and of mixed abilities.
The school became co-educational in 2012, reversing a change to boys-only enrolment that had been made in the 1950s.
In 2015, the school lowered its leaving age from 13 to 11 on account of the lowering of entry ages by independent secondary schools nearby.
The school's separate buildings for preparatory and pre-preparatory years are set around central playing fields. Facilities include a multi-purpose sports hall, indoor heated swimming pool, and floodlit artificially turfed courts. Additional playing fields are off-site. Classrooms have interactive whiteboards and WiFi connects all classrooms.
The
Independent Schools Inspectorate
The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect independent schools in England. These schools are members of associations, w ...
(ISI) report of its integrated inspection of Chinthurst School in December 2014 stated that "Throughout the school, the curriculum ... exceeds the range of subjects usually found in English schools. ... Sport and physical education are notable strengths. ... The provision of extra-curricular clubs and activities, including for children in the
arly Years Foundation Stage
The Arly () is a 32.1 km long river in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. It is a tributary of the Isère, which it joins at Albertville.
Towns crossed by the river
* Megève
* Praz-sur-Arly
* Flumet
* Saint-Nicolas-la-Chap ...
is excellent."
Academic and other achievements
Chinthurst School was assessed by the
ISI's 2016 integrated inspection report as being "successful in meeting its aim to produce well-rounded individuals" and "very successful in preparing pupils for their move to senior schools". The school "provides a broad and balanced curriculum with an excellent range of extra-curricular activities" and "succeeds extremely well in fulfilling its aim to teach consideration for others, traditional values and respect for the community ... pupils are extremely well behaved, and relationships between pupils and staff and among the pupils themselves are excellent."
The school reports outperforming national standards for both state and independent schools.
Pupils were also assessed as achieving well in music, art and drama and in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. In recent years, almost all leavers have gained places at their first-choice senior school and a good proportion of pupils have won scholarships and awards.
In December 2016 the externally moderated Profile Results for the
Early Years Foundation Stage
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for early years education in England. The term was defined in Section 39 of the British government's Childcare Act 2006.Childcare Act 200online The equivalents in Wales and Scotl ...
2015–2016 were 100 per cent for each pupil in the Stage. In March 2017 the school reported that on the basis of their
11-plus
The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardized examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...
examinations, its eighteen Year 6 pupils had so far received 38 offers of places to 15 independent and state schools, nearly half of which included awards for academics, sport, music, art and drama.
History
Chinthurst School was founded in 1908 by Miss Alice Katherine Atkins in a perfume factory. Two years later, the first dedicated school building was erected on farmland at the present site. Records from the school's early days have not survived. However, it is apparent that under Miss Atkins and her headmistress in the 1910s, Miss Thwaites, the establishment was principally a girls' school that accepted a limited number of boarders.
The distinguished archaeologist Aileen Fox (then Aileen Henderson) remembered, on joining the school as an 11-year-old in 1918:
Chinthurst was run by the formidable Miss Thwaites, and took some thirty girls, some of them boarders, between the ages of eight and fifteen. We were divided into three classes, mostly taught by Miss Thwaites ... a Dickensian figure, shabbily dressed, thin, erect, with a sallow complexion, a pointed nose, dark eyes and a penetrating voice. She was a good teacher though severe and had little patience with the mediocre or lazy child.
In 1934, a Major Bradley bought the school for his son and bride as a wedding present. Described as "liberal for the time", it appears to have been reasonably prosperous as a co-educational day and boarding school. More buildings were added in this period.
After the second world war, Chinthurst remained a co-educational day and boarding school until the Bradleys sold the school in 1953 to Mr Ronald Kelley and his wife, Joan. Mr Kelley remained headmaster until his retirement in 1977.
![Chinthurst School pupils push commemorative crosses into lawn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Chinthurst_School_pupils_push_commemorative_crosses_into_lawn.jpg)
Within a few years of taking over, Ronald Kelley changed Chinthurst into a modern boys' prep school. In doing so, boarding was phased out and girls were no longer taught. In 1976, the school was changed from a proprietary business to an educational trust, and the Reverend Brian Batty became headmaster until 1982.
Headmaster Mr Trevor Egan and his wife, Heather, were appointed in 1983. Under their leadership for the next 26 years, the school thrived and expanded, offering much wider opportunities to the pupils than in the past.
Following Mr and Mrs Egan's retirement in 2009, Mr Ian Thorpe was appointed headmaster. From 2012, the school enrolled girls at all grades in response to demand.
Mr David Williams was appointed headmaster in September 2013. He was followed in April 2015 by Mr Tim Button, previously the School's deputy headmaster. In February 2017, Miss Cathy Trundle was appointed headteacher.
Integration with the RGS Group
On 20 February 2017, the RGS Group, comprising Reigate Grammar School (RGS) and Reigate St Mary's Preparatory and Choir School, announced "new long term commitments" under which Chinthurst School would operate in partnership with the group for mutual support, experience and expertise.
Chinthurst's Chair of Governors said that "The landscape by which we operate has changed significantly; smaller preparatory schools increasingly need the resilience of being part of a larger entity" and added: "The children will benefit in many ways, including the option of an early offer
rom Reigate Grammar School
Rom, or ROM may refer to:
Biomechanics and medicine
* Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient
* Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac
* ...
if it is the school of choice. However, for those parents who wish their children to go to the many other
ndependent secondaryschools in the area, Chinthurst will continue to prepare them for the 11 plus
xaminationas we do now."
The Chinthurst Educational Trust remained as the school's controlling corporate entity. As part of the introduced changes, four RGS nominees replaced all but two governors on the Chinthurst board; those two Chinthurst governors joined the Reigate Grammar School and Reigate St Mary's School board, together with two other former Chinthurst governors; and Cathy Trundle, the Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Reigate St Mary's replaced Chinthurst School's Headmaster, Tim Button.
Notable alumni
*
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...
,
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
1987–2015:
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
in the
Labour Government from 2007 to 2010 and chair of the cross-party group that successfully campaigned for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom in the
2014 independence referendum.
*
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. He played the title character in ''Willow'' (1988) and the ''Leprechaun'' film series (1993–2003), several characters in the ''Star Wars'' film series (1983–2019), most nota ...
, noted actor and television presenter, who co-founded the talent agency Willow Management to represent actors shorter than 5 feet and taller than 7 feet.
*
Aileen Fox
Aileen Mary Fox, Lady Fox, ( Henderson; 29 July 1907 – 21 November 2005) was an English archaeologist, who specialised in the archaeology of south-west England. She notably excavated the Roman legionary fortress in Exeter, Devon, after the S ...
, distinguished archaeologist.
*
Henry Smith,
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for Crawley.
References
External links
Chinthurst School website
{{Authority control
Independent schools in Surrey
Preparatory schools in Surrey
1908 establishments in England