City of London Freemen's School

51°18′28″N 00°17′14″W / 51.30778°N 0.28722°W / 51.30778; -0.28722InformationTypeIndependent school
Day and boarding schoolMottoLatin: Domine Dirige NosEstablished1854Department for Education URN125349 TablesHeadmasterRoland MartinGenderCo-educationalAge7 to 18Enrolment842HousesHale, Gresham and WhittingtonColour(s)red and white   Websitewww.freemens.org

City of London Freemen's School (CLFS) is a co-educational private school for day and boarding pupils, located at Ashtead Park in Surrey, England. It is the sister school of the City of London School and the City of London School for Girls, which are both independent single-sex schools located within the City of London itself. All three schools receive funding from the City's Cash.^[1] The school's head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

The Good Schools Guide described the school as "A traditional academic and sporty school in a stunning setting with impressive facilities but not at all elitist – in fact quite the opposite."^[2] In 2023, 60% of pupils achieved A*-A in A Levels and 84% achieved 9-7 in GCSEs.^[3]

History

Foundation of a School for Orphans of Freemen of the City of London Act 1850
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for establishing a School for Orphans of Freemen of the City of London.
Citation	13 & 14 Vict. c. 10
Dates
Royal assent	14 August 1850
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted

The school was founded in 1854 by the Corporation of London, and was originally located in Brixton, London to educate orphans of freemen of the city.^[4] It is still possible for such children to be educated as "Foundationers" at the school with the costs of their education borne by the City of London Corporation. The school is set in 57 acres (230,000 m²) of Ashtead Park in Surrey, having moved from Brixton to Ashtead in 1926.^[4]

The school celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004 with a yearlong series of events. The anniversary started with a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral attended by the whole school (now numbering over 800) and culminated in the school being represented with a float in the annual Lord Mayor’s Show.^{[citation needed]}

Boarding house

The boarding house is next to the music block and the junior school.

Old Freemen's

Once pupils leave school they become part of Old Freemen’s Association, which includes the Old Freemen's Rugby Football Club, Cricket Club and Hockey Club. There is also a Guild of Scholars of the City of London, which was formed to encourage former pupils from the three ‘City schools’ to develop links with the City of London. Membership is open to all former pupils, staff, and retired staff, who must have obtained their ‘Freedom of the City of London’ but there is no subscription.

In addition any pupil aged 14–17 who is still at school may apply to become an apprentice to a Freeman of the City. They will then be entitled, at the age of 21, to apply for the Freedom of the City and membership of the Guild of Scholars.^{[citation needed]}

Drama and music

The school organises a number of performances each year, and these have included Oliver!, Oklahoma!, Cabaret, Les Misérables, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The senior school play for 2022 was "A Christmas Carol" and the latest production was the musical “Titanic”. ^{[citation needed]}

Feeder schools

• Danes Hill School, Oxshott
• Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton
• Downsend School, Ashtead
• Kingswood House School, Epsom
• Milbourne Lodge School, Esher
• Aberdour School, Burgh Heath

Notable former pupils

Former pupils are known as Old Freemen. Some better known Old Freemen include:

• Rory Burns - Surrey and England cricketer^[5][6]
• Simon Cowell (presenter) - MBE, presenter of Animal Planet and Wildlife SOS^[7]
• Warwick Davis - actor, star of Willow, also appeared in the Star Wars and Harry Potter movie series^[5][8]
• Andrew Garfield - actor appeared in the films Red Riding, Boy A and Lions for Lambs as well as the plays Romeo & Juliet, The Laramie Project, Kes and the Channel 4 show Sugar Rush, The Social Network and The Amazing Spider-Man^[5]
• Andrew Goddard - gastroenterologist^[9]
• Ashley Mote - former UKIP MEP^[10]
• Anders Nielsen - badminton player^[5]
• Alexandra Rickham - Paralympic sailor^[5]
• Guy Spier - investor^[11]
• Joe Strummer-lead singer of punk rock band the Clash. Strummer's real name was John Mellor (died December 2002)^[5]
• Gavin Turk - one of the Young British Artists^[5]
• Andy Ward - progressive rock drummer best known for playing in Camel in the 1970s^[12]

References

External links

• Official website
• Profile at the Good Schools Guide
• Cityoflondon.gov.uk