On 25 January 1884, Surbiton High School opened its doors to eleven pupils.
The School was based in a house in Surbiton acquired and rented for the purpose by Archdeacon Charles Burney, a member of the United Church Schools Company Council. Miss Mary Amelia Bennett, the newly appointed Headmistress, was an ambitious classicist from Girton College, Cambridge, who wholeheartedly threw herself into the development of the School. By the end of the first year, there were 91 pupils and the School was thriving. Surbiton High School was to become the flagship for the Church Schools Company.
The School continues to flourish and be guided by our school motto “May love always lead us” and we are proud of all those who have ever been a part of our Surbiton High School family.
No more so than this year, would the entire school have benefitted from being brought together as a community, but, sadly, the pandemic has meant we cannot congregate at our traditional Founders’ Day Church Services. Furthermore, the excitement of eating the traditional iced bun and debating whether it has too much icing, not enough icing or is, indeed, stale, will have to wait until next year. However, we are determined to mark the occasion with an Iced Bun Competition sponsored by the Green & Silver Club so that we can remember our much-loved School from the comfort of our own home.
Happy Birthday Surbiton High School – here’s to another 137 years and more!
– Polly Rumbold, Head of Development & Alumni Relations
