St John’s School, Leatherhead is an established co-educational independent school in Surrey, founded in 1851 and set on 50 acres of landscaped grounds on Epsom Road. Originally created to educate the sons of poor clergy, the school evolved through the late-19th and early-20th centuries into a full traditional English public school while retaining strong links with the Church of England. Today the school educates around 840 pupils aged 11 to 18 through day, weekly boarding and flexi-boarding options.
The Leatherhead campus blends Victorian heritage with modern academic facilities, including a Science Centre, contemporary classroom buildings and upgraded boarding houses. Centrally located structures such as the Dining Hall, Quad, and the historic chapel—rebuilt in 1962 with significant support from Viscount Montgomery of Alamein—form the architectural core of the school.
St John’s is structured into ten houses (six boys’ and four girls’), each with its own colours, staff teams and identity. A long-standing boarding tradition remains a distinctive feature of the school, though day pupils now form a substantial proportion of the community.
Academically, St John’s delivers a broad curriculum supported by extensive co-curricular opportunities. The school runs a large Combined Cadet Force (founded in 1912), a strong Duke of Edinburgh Award programme, a community service unit and a wide activity offering spanning languages, robotics, arts, debating, sport, music and drama.
St John’s maintains a strong sporting profile. Rugby, football, hockey, netball and cross-country anchor the competitive calendar, with cricket, athletics, tennis and swimming in the summer months. Additional competitive disciplines include golf, fives, squash, badminton, biathlon, sailing, skiing and shooting. The school’s cricket ground—used since 1879—has hosted List A county fixtures and remains one of the distinctive school grounds in Surrey.
The school has produced distinguished alumni across academia, the arts, sport, public life and industry. Former pupils are known as Old Johnians (OJs).
Today St John’s School stands as one of Surrey’s leading independent schools, combining heritage, modern facilities, competitive sport and a strong Church of England ethos on a historic Leatherhead campus.