Shrewsbury House School, commonly referred to as SHS or Shrewsbury House, is an independent day preparatory school for boys aged 7 to 13, 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 ...

at the edge of Greater London close to the Surrey border, its historic county, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Established in 1865 it is among the minority of extant Preparatory Schools founded before the year 1900. A proportion of pupils achieve results at

Common Entrance Examination Common Entrance Examinations (commonly known as CE) are taken by independent school pupils in the UK as part of the selective admissions process at age 13, though ten independent schools do select at 11 using different test papers. They are se ...

s to gain entry to schools such as public schools. The school has been an educational trust since 1979 administered by a

Board of Governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

some of whom are among its trustees. All of the

Governors A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, except two of the educationalists and the medical expert, are former parents.

History

Shrewsbury House School was founded in 1865 by Rev. Henry Wilson, a local clergyman, in the centre of Surbiton and derived its name from the Wilson family’s association with the town of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. In 1910 the School moved to ‘Haulkerton’ a large Victorian

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

mansion that dated from the mid-nineteenth century on Ditton Hill. The main house was soon renamed Shrewsbury House and the School has remained there ever since. For the next 70 years, the School was operated by a series of private owners, most notably Henry Hamilton-Miller, who gave the School his family coat of arms and the motto ‘Alta Peto’. In 1979, the School became a charitable trust, administered by a Board of Governors, known as the Shrewsbury House School Trust. In 2009, the school took over the pre-preparatory department of nearby

Milbourne Lodge School Milbourne Lodge School is a co-educational pre-prep and preparatory school for children aged four to thirteen. Located in Esher, Surrey, the school is housed in a Victorian mansion situated on of Surrey countryside. History Milbourne Lodge ...

, which was renamed Shrewsbury Lodge School and later Shrewsbury House Pre-Preparatory School, after The Rowans School, Wimbledon, joined the Shrewsbury House School Trust in 2017

Notable alumni

* Anthony Gross CBE, RA (1905–1984),

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniqu ...

, painter, war artist & film director *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Philip 'Pip' Roberts, (1906-1997), senior officer during 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 ...

* Sir Stirling Moss

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1929-2020),

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

racing driver * Donald Cammell (1934–1996), film director * Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth (born 1937), former Chairman of

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

and Chairman &

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

of Tesco * Nigel Mitchell (born 1978) TV and radio presenter * Madison Hughes (born 1992), Captain of the

United States national rugby sevens team The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and the team has been led by Head Coach Mike Friday since 2014. The main competition the tea ...

Alastair Gray Alastair Gray (born 22 June 1998) is a British tennis player. Gray has a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 237 achieved on 19 September 2022. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 304 achieved on 20 June 2022. ...

(born 1998), tennis player

Notes and references

;References ;Notes

External links

Shrewsbury House School website
{{authority control 1865 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1865 Independent boys' schools in London Independent schools in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames