If your family has joined us this September — in Reception, in Year 3, in Year 7, in Year 9 or in the Sixth Form — welcome. You have chosen us, and we do not take that lightly. Here is what these first few weeks look like, and where to turn when you need something.
YOUR FIRST DAYS
New Year 7 and Sixth Form pupils had their induction day on Monday 7 September, ahead of the whole school returning on Tuesday 8 September. Induction is deliberately gentle: meeting form tutors, finding the rooms that matter, working out lockers, lunch and lessons, and — most importantly — meeting the people who will be alongside them all year. Almost every new pupil arrives worried about friendships and leaves having found someone. It happens faster than you expect.
WHO TO TALK TO
Your first point of contact is your child’s class teacher in the Prep Schools, or their form tutor in the Senior School and Sixth Form. They see your child every day and they will know quickly if something is not quite right. Beyond that, Heads of Year and our pastoral team are there for anything larger, and our admissions team is happy to keep helping long after the offer letter — uniform, transport, clubs, the small logistical puzzles of a first term.
FOUR SCHOOLS, ONE COMMUNITY
Surbiton High is a Boys’ Prep on Maple Road, a Girls’ Prep on Surbiton Road, and our Senior School and Sixth Form on Surbiton Crescent. Each has its own character and its own front door, and they share one community, one set of values and one long educational journey. Families with children across two sites quickly find the rhythm, and siblings see far more of each other than the map suggests.
GETTING HERE
We sit a short walk from Surbiton and Kingston stations, and many of our families travel by train, bus, bike or on foot. If your child is making an independent journey for the first time, practise it together once or twice before term and agree a simple check-in routine. Details of travel options are on our website, and our team can talk you through what other families in your area do.
SETTLING IN, AND JOINING IN
Our advice to every new pupil is the same: say yes to something in the first fortnight. A club, a team trial, a choir, a society. Shared activity is the shortcut to friendship, and with over 150 different opportunities there is something for every temperament — not only the confident and the sporty.
For Prep families, Breakfast Club from 7.30am and After School Club until 6.00pm are also a lovely way in. Children mix across both Prep schools, make friends beyond their own class and try things they would not have chosen in lesson time.
KEEPING IN TOUCH
You will hear from us regularly — and we would like to hear from you too. Tell us what is working, tell us what is not, and tell us early. A short email in week two is worth far more than a difficult conversation in November.
We are delighted you are here. Welcome to Surbiton High.
