St. Dominic's School in

Hambledon, Surrey Hambledon is a rural scattered village and civil parish in the Waverley borough of Surrey, situated south of Guildford. It is dominated by a buffer zone of fields and woodland, mostly south of the Greensand Ridge escarpment between Witley and ...

, England is a co-educational day school, one of the oldest

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

s in the United Kingdom. It specialises in the education of children with various disabilities, such as

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

, whilst integrating specialised support, including an onsite speech and language, occupational and physio therapy team. Currently pupils are admitted from over 35 different LEAs. It admits and educates pupils aged 7–19. Previously a non-maintained independent school, in January 2018 St Dominic's School formally entered the state sector and converted to academy status. The school is now part of the Orchard Hill College & Academy Trust.Orchard Hill College
Academy Trust
accessed 4 March 2021

Admissions

Applications are normally made through the Local Education Authority in whose area a child's family live. Currently pupils are admitted from over 35 different LEAs.

Background

On Mount Olivet, a hill in the

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand, is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it ...

, the place was named after St. Dominic Savio, the patron saint of juvenile delinquents. The site was originally property of Charles Watney. It consisted of an observatory and a chapel, the latter of which remains a prominent assembly place and the observatory remaining as the logo for the school. When Watney's wife died in 1929, some time after Watney himself died, the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

congregation of

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s known as the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary established the school at her request, and they remain its trustees to this day. The school is one of those supported by the

Diocese of Arundel and Brighton The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton () is a diocese in southern England covering the counties of Sussex and Surrey (excluding Spelthorne, which is part of the Diocese of Westminster). The diocese was erected on 28 May 1965 by Pop ...

(in the Roman Catholic church).

References

External links

Entry for St. Dominic's School on ''Independent Schools of the British Isles''St. Dominic's School website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Dominic's School (Hambledon) Educational institutions established in 1929 Academies in Surrey Special schools in Surrey 1929 establishments in England