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A school that knows every child.

Merrowdown was founded in 1894 with forty pupils and one idea: that children learn best where they are known.

A brick school building behind autumn branches

Welcome from the Head.

Thank you for your interest in Merrowdown. Choosing a school is one of the largest decisions a family makes, and a website can only tell you so much.

What I hope you will find here is a school that takes learning seriously without taking itself too seriously. Our pupils work hard. They also row at dawn, argue in the debating chamber, build things that do not always work and look after one another.

We are not the right school for every child, and we will tell you honestly if we think another school would suit yours better. The best way to find out is to visit. I would be glad to show you around.

Mrs Eleanor Whitcombe
Head

What we value.

Curiosity
We would rather a pupil asked a good question than gave a neat answer. Lessons leave room for both.
Kindness
Every pupil belongs to a house and a tutor group. Older pupils mentor younger ones, and nobody eats lunch alone.
Courage
Trying the hard thing matters more than getting it right first time. We make it safe to fail and then try again.
Service
Pupils give time to the town each week: reading with younger children, coaching, gardening and visiting.

Since 1894.

The buildings have changed more than the idea behind them.

1894
The school opens in Abbots House with forty pupils and three teachers.
1921
The first boarding house is built, and the school buys the land down to the river.
1958
Girls join the senior classes. The school is fully co-educational twelve years later.
1974
The Great Hall and the Thackeray Theatre are opened by a former pupil.
2003
The youngest classes move into their own buildings beside the walled garden.
2026
Work begins on a new science centre, paid for entirely by gifts.