Surbiton High School, established in 1884, is turning 140 years old tomorrow, the 25th of January. Celebrations are underway at the school, with special assemblies and festivities occurring throughout the Senior, Sixth Form and Prep Schools. As celebrations continue, it is important to understand the history of this school, as it shows how Surbiton High has developed some of its most central ideologies and practices.
Miss Mary Amelia Bennett, the first Head of School, ran a school with only 11 girls, and the aim was to provide access to girls’ education at a time when this was not common. Under her, the school grew to 91 pupils, with the school showered in high praise.
The school’s first motto was ‘Be good sweet maid and let who be clever’, showing the aim to provide education for the pupils beyond the goal of securing a husband.
One of the most respected qualities of Surbiton High was the cocurricular activities they offered, including ‘solo singing and special drawing’, and this upheld practice is still a big part of the school today, with their extensive list of co-curricular clubs and organizations they support allowing students to attend any that they may be interested in.
The second Head of School, Miss Nixon Smith, was keen to employ modern teaching practices in the school, particularly in Music and Mathematics. This is a mindset the school continues to embody.
The links with Lambeth and the Universities Mission to Central Africa that Miss Smith set up in the 1800s are continued today, with much of the school’s inter-house competitions and events focusing on raising money for the 15+ charities that the school supports, raising massive amounts of money each year for their local community as well as charities across the world.
It was during this time that she established an Old Girls Association for the school’s alumni. This has been running strongly since 1886, and the now Green and Silver Club hosts many events to bring the ex-pupils back together, as well as utilising their connections to secure work experience for the current pupils. The alumni feel such a strong connection to the school that some are attending the 140 celebrations.
Later, as the school continued to grow, different buildings were procured for the Junior and Senior girls, and in 1987, the school absorbed Arundale House Boys’ School to establish what is now the Boys’ Prep.
Mary Bennett House, named after Mary Amelia Bennett, was then bought in 2014, and Charles Burney House in 2017.
The current principal, Rebecca Glover, continues the legacy of expanding and bettering the school, currently including a Girls and Boys Prep, a Senior School and Sixth Form.
