History
The sports ground, a short walk away was acquired from Croydon Council in 2005 and the Nursery, "Treetops Nursery", catering for boys and girls, was opened on the same site in January 2007. An additional nursery was added in 2009 which, along with the acquisition of a new nursery and EYFS setting in Woodcote Lane has increased capacity to 137 FTE, 72 at South Croydon and 65 at Purley.
Mr. Peter Clare-Hunt, the Headmaster, joined the School in September 1998. The Deputy Headmaster is Mr. Peter Crosbie, who has been at the School for over thirty years and is also Head of History. The School is staffed by fully-qualified teachers as well as teaching assistants. In Year 4 and above specialist teachers are involved in all subject areas. Specialist teaching in music, computing, PE and games is provided throughout a boy's career, both in the main School and in the Pre-Prep while the Nursery children also benefit from specialist music and PE teachers.
In September 2010, after huge demand from our parents for a Girls School, Cumnor House successfully opened Cumnor House Girls' School, situated in Woodcote Lane, Purley, within the Webb Estate. A school bus runs regularly between the Boys' School and the Girls' School to make the school run a little easier.
The School was founded in 1931 and named after the house in which, with many additional buildings, it remains to this day.
During the Second World War the School was evacuated as a boarding school to Seals near Guildford and then to Danehill in Sussex, where a completely separate school of the same name and with a similar uniform continues today.
In 1946 the School was re-opened in Pampisford Road and recognised by the Department of Education in 1951. The main site caters for boys only, aged 4-13.
The School is situated on high ground in a quiet residential district. Boys attending the School come from a wide area. The School premises consist of three large houses to which considerable buildings have been added. These include a gymnasium and classroom block, a kitchen and dining hall, three playgrounds, two fully-equipped science laboratories, an art room, a computer laboratory with twenty four networked PCs, the music house with a series of practice/teaching rooms and a technology room with computers and keyboards, a heated indoor swimming pool, eight hard-surfaced cricket nets with a bowling machine, a tennis and basketball court and sports area.
There is a well-stocked library and reading room, and the boys are encouraged to read widely. Televisions, DVDs and overhead projectors are readily available for all teaching purposes, and the well-equipped computer laboratory ensures that these facilities are fully integrated into the teaching methods employed. There are also several smart boards in use. Over the past few years the School has been extensively refurbished and provides excellent facilities in light and quiet classrooms.
