Frensham Heights School

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.

Frensham Heights School
Address
Rowledge Farnham , Surrey , GU10 4EA England
Coordinates	51.17714°N 0.81151°W / 51.17714; -0.81151
Information
Type	Private and Sixth form college Day and Boarding
Motto	Think, Create, Explore
Established	1925
Founder	Edith Douglas-Hamilton
Local authority	Surrey
Department for Education URN	125338 Tables
Headmaster	Ben McCarey
Gender	Coeducational
Age	3 to 18
Enrolment	530~
Former pupils	Old Frenshamians
Website	https://www.frensham.org

Foundation and location

The school was founded by Edith Douglas-Hamilton and established under joint headmistresses, Beatrice Ensor and Isabel King. It became firmly established under the headmastership of Paul Roberts (1928–1949^[1]) and was recognised as efficient by the Ministry of Education (now the Department for Education) in 1935.^{[citation needed]}

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 started 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.^[2] 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^[3]
• Edward Davenport, fraudster^[4]
• Jack Dee, comedian^[5]
• Will Hodgkinson, writer^[6]
• Charlotte Hough (née Woodyadd), author and illustrator^[7]
• Rufus Hound, comedian^[8]
• Francis Huxley, anthropologist and writer^[9]
• James Irvine, designer^[10]
• Tony Knowland, professor^[11]
• Sir Thomas Legg, civil servant^[12]
• Nick Mason CBE, drummer^[5]
• Hattie Morahan, actor
• Jon Pertwee, actor famous for Dr Who^[13]
• Wolf Rilla, film director^[14]
• Sam Roddick, businesswoman^[15]
• Henry Smith,^[16] former Member of Parliament for Crawley