Frensham Heights School is a private school with a sixth form college located near Farnham, Surrey, England, run by the registered charity, Frensham Heights Educational Trust Ltd. It was founded in 1925 and formed as part of the movement for progressive education. Unlike many HMC member schools, it has been coeducational and has taken both day and boarding pupils since its foundation.
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Foundation and location
The school was founded by Edith Douglas-Hamilton, and established under Beatrice Ensor and Isabel King as joint headmistresses. It became firmly established under the headmastership of Paul Roberts (1928–1949) and was recognised as efficient by the Ministry of Education (now the Department for Education) in 1935.
Based at a mock-Tudor mansion, built by the brewer Charles Charrington in 1898, and in its estate, the school is on a hill 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from the centre of Farnham but is actually in the village of Frensham. Its grounds run into Rowledge.
The Head
Ben McCarey began his tenure as the full-time Head of Frensham Heights in September 2024.
Facilities
The school has a professional working theatre called the Aldridge Theatre, with a capacity of 300, which is used for both internal and external performances. It also has an independent sixth form centre, which is separated from the rest of the school, and a music centre.
Notable alumni
Ex-pupils (Old Frenshamians) include:
Nikki Amuka-Bird, actress
Hugo Blick, filmmaker
Edward Davenport, fraudster
Jack Dee, comedian
Hannah Gavron, sociologist
Will Hodgkinson, writer
Charlotte Hough (née Woodyadd), author and illustrator
Rufus Hound, comedian
Francis Huxley, anthropologist and writer
James Irvine, designer
Tony Knowland, professor
Sir Thomas Legg, civil servant
Nick Mason CBE, drummer
Hattie Morahan, actor
Jon Pertwee, actor famous for Dr Who
Wolf Rilla, film director
Sam Roddick, businesswoman
Henry Smith, former Member of Parliament for Crawley
Jim Sturgess, actor and musician