City of London Freemen's School (CLFS) is a co-educational

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 ...

for day and boarding pupils, located at Ashtead Park in

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 ...

, England. It is the sister school of the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

and the City of London School for Girls, which are both independent single-sex schools located within the City of London itself. All three schools receive funding from the City's Cash. The school's head is a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...

. The '' Good Schools Guide'' described the school as "A traditional academic and sporty school in a stunning setting with impressive facilities but not at all elitist – in fact quite the opposite." In 2024, 33% of grades in A Levels were A* and 72% of grades were A*-A. In GCSEs, 40% of grades were 9, 67% were 8-9 (equivalent to A*) and 86% achieved 9-7 in GCSEs.

History

The school was founded in 1854 by the Corporation of London, and was originally located in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, London to educate orphans of freemen of the city. It is still possible for such children to be educated as "Foundationers" at the school with the costs of their education borne by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

. The school is set in of Ashtead Park in Surrey, having moved from Brixton to Ashtead in 1926.

Boarding house

The boarding house is next to Main House and the junior school and welcomes international students as well as domestic students.

Old Freemen's

Once pupils leave school they become part of ''Old Freemen’s Association'', which includes the Old Freemen's Rugby Football Club, Cricket Club and Hockey Club. There is also a Guild of Scholars of the City of London, which was formed to encourage former pupils from the three ‘City schools’ to develop links with the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. Membership is open to all former pupils, staff, and retired staff, who must have obtained their ‘Freedom of the City of London’ but there is no subscription. In addition any pupil aged 14–17 who is still at school may apply to become an apprentice to a Freeman of the City. They will then be entitled, at the age of 21, to apply for the Freedom of the City and membership of the Guild of Scholars.

Feeder schools

* Danes Hill School, Oxshott * Homefield Preparatory School,

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

* Downsend School, Ashtead * Kingswood House School,

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

* Milbourne Lodge School,

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

* Aberdour School, Burgh Heath

Notable alumni

Former pupils are known as Old Freemen. Some better known Old Freemen include: * Rory Burns - Surrey and England cricketer * Simon Cowell (presenter) - presenter of '' Animal Planet'' and '' Wildlife SOS'' * Warwick Davis - actor, star of ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'', also appeared in the

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

and

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

movie series * Andrew Garfield - actor, appeared in the film ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' and others *

Andrew Goddard Sir Andrew Francis Goddard (born 8 November 1967) is a British physician, academic and gastroenterology as well as consultant and was the president of the Royal College of Physicians of London 2018 - 2022. Biography Goddard was born on 8 Nove ...

- gastroenterologist * Ashley Mote - former

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

MEP * Anders Nielsen -

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player * Alexandra Rickham - Paralympic sailor * Guy Spier - investor *

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...

- lead singer of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

; real name John Mellor *

Gavin Turk Gavin Turk (born 1967) is a British artist from Guildford in Surrey, and was considered to be one of the Young British Artists. Turk's oeuvre deals with issues of authenticity and identity, engaged with modernist and avant-garde debates surround ...

- one of the Young British Artists * Andy Ward -

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

drummer best known for playing in

Camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

in the 1970s

References

External links

Official websiteCityoflondon.gov.uk
{{authority control Boarding schools in Surrey Private schools in Surrey History of the City of London Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Educational institutions established in 1854 1854 establishments in England Freedom of the City