Admissions: 01372 372311
General: 01372 372197

Welcome to Downsend School

Inspiring Young Minds. Creating Incredible Futures.

Downsend is an innovative and forward-thinking independent school, with a new vision; to inspire a generation to embrace the future, shaping incredible people who will make change in our world.

At Downsend, we prepare our young people for the future with a creative and problem-solving approach. We think big, we celebrate innovation, and we never hold back.

All four schools in the Downsend family have been judged to be ‘excellent in all areas’ by the Independent School Inspectorate and we are delighted to have been shortlisted as 'Co-educational Independent School of the Year' in the Independent School of the Year Awards 2024.

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Downsend is future focused in a rapidly evolving world.

From Nursery through to the Senior School, day to day life at Downsend is fast-paced, inspiring and immersive. We bring learning to life, providing opportunities for growth at every age.

We're passionate about providing the best, most innovative experience possible. Find out more about our Future Skills Vision below:

Future Skills Vision

Head's Welcome

Meet the Head.

Described by the Good Schools Guide as ‘refreshingly candid, with a knack for getting what he wants’, Ian Thorpe has been Head at Downsend for 10 years. A forward-thinking Head, Ian has been responsible for significant change at Downsend.

His can-do attitude, relentless energy and good humour, coupled with an impressive track record from Chinthurst, City of London Freemen's and Caterham School, mean that Downsend benefits from the best of both worlds – the ability to choose the best of the sector, whilst also innovating to do things differently.

Our Awards.

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ISA Awards 2024: 'Co-educational Independent School of the Year'

Shortlisted

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ISA Awards 2022 for Innovation in Independent Education:

Finalist

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Microsoft Showcase Schools Incubator Pathway
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Muddy Stilettos 2022 Awards for Most Creative Learning Through Play:

Highly Commended

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Common Sense Media School: 2021-2023
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Eco-Schools Green Flag Award: July 2022

FACILITIES & LOCATION

Excellent learning locations.

Innovative modern spaces bring specialist teaching to life at the Main School, while Little Downsend offers a home from home for our littlest children, with outstanding outdoor spaces for exploring and learning.

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Our cutting-edge Creative Arts Centre opened in June 2022.
Little Downsend Ashtead
Little Downsend Epsom
Little Downsend Leatherhead
Downsend Main Campus

A NEW ERA

A new era for Downsend, welcoming babies to the family.

We are delighted to now welcome babies to the Downsend family. Little Downsend Ashtead is proud to provide an exceptional foundation for children aged 6 months to 4 years.

Little Downsend Ashtead
Passionate and inspiring leadership, down to earth, fantastic facilities and a modern, forward-thinking approach.

 – A Downsend Parent

Our Schools

Little Downsend Ashtead (0 - 4 years)

Little Downsend Ashtead is a Nursery and Pre-School for children aged 6 months to 4 years old.

A short walk from Ashtead Village, with its independent shops and cafes, Little Downsend Ashtead is perfectly located for new parents looking for a nursery within walking distance that has a quiet, welcoming presence.

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Little Downsend Epsom (2-7 years)

Little Downsend Epsom is a Nursery and Pre-Prep for children aged 2 years to 7 years.

Occupying a beautiful piece of land with a grassy field, garden and play areas, both children's and parent's needs are catered for in quiet surroundings.

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Little Downsend Leatherhead (2-7 years)

Little Downsend Leatherhead is a Nursery and Pre-Prep for children aged 2 years to 7 years.

The largest of the three schools, Little Downsend Leatherhead benefits from a huge play area, an acre of grassy fields, forest school, stage and climbing equipment.

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Downsend School (8 - 16 years)

Downsend School houses Year 3 to Year 11. Featuring a brand-new Creative Arts Centre, extensive sporting facilities, 25m pool and a wide range of specialist labs and studios, Downsend offers pupils an exciting place to learn. Conveniently located just outside Leatherhead, the campus has a leafy, suburban feel whilst being easy to get to by car, train or bus.

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Accreditations

                                          

Follow Downsend on Social Media

Our Year 10 Drama students had an unforgettable experience at Woking`s New Victoria Theatre, where they watched the incredible touring production of War Horse.

This powerful and groundbreaking performance left a lasting impression, with students describing it as "the best thing we`ve ever seen." The trip was a fantastic opportunity to witness world-class theatre in action, inspiring our young performers and deepening their appreciation for the art of storytelling.

#downsendschool #wearecognita #seniorschool #independentschool #privateschool #leatherhead #boxhill #gcsedrama #creativearts #woking #warhorse #victoriatheatre

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Our Year 10 Drama students had an unforgettable experience at Woking's New Victoria Theatre, where they watched the incredible touring production of War Horse. This powerful and groundbreaking performance left a lasting impression, with students describing it as "the best thing we've ever seen." The trip was a fantastic opportunity to witness world-class theatre in action, inspiring our young performers and deepening their appreciation for the art of storytelling. #downsendschool #wearecognita #seniorschool #independentschool #privateschool #leatherhead #boxhill #gcsedrama #creativearts #woking #warhorse #victoriatheatre

💫` Life at the Littles’ 💫 - At Downsend, we are digital creators! We introduce digital creativity starting with iPads for phonics in Rising Reception. This use of technology continues in Reception and Year 1, and by Year 2, children progress to spelling activities. We leverage modern digital tools to explore essential curriculum areas, including Phonics, Maths, and English. Our phonics activities help children recognize sounds, blend them together, and identify nonsense words, all of which contribute to building their vocabulary and boosting their confidence.

Recently, we invited parents of Little Downsend to a workshop centred on phonics and the process of learning to read. Staff from all three of our schools shared valuable tips to help parents support their children’s progression from ‘sound seekers’ to ‘fluent readers’.

During the workshop, staff shared successful strategies employed in school to foster a love of reading, resulting in 90% of Little Downsend children meeting or exceeding national reading attainment levels by the end of Year 2, in contrast to the national average of 68%.

#downsendschool #wearecognita #surreyschools #independentschool #privateschool #surreyhills #juniorschool #seniorschool #boxhill #nursery #community #digitalcreator #digitallearning

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💫' Life at the Littles’ 💫 - At Downsend, we are digital creators! We introduce digital creativity starting with iPads for phonics in Rising Reception. This use of technology continues in Reception and Year 1, and by Year 2, children progress to spelling activities. We leverage modern digital tools to explore essential curriculum areas, including Phonics, Maths, and English. Our phonics activities help children recognize sounds, blend them together, and identify nonsense words, all of which contribute to building their vocabulary and boosting their confidence. Recently, we invited parents of Little Downsend to a workshop centred on phonics and the process of learning to read. Staff from all three of our schools shared valuable tips to help parents support their children’s progression from ‘sound seekers’ to ‘fluent readers’. During the workshop, staff shared successful strategies employed in school to foster a love of reading, resulting in 90% of Little Downsend children meeting or exceeding national reading attainment levels by the end of Year 2, in contrast to the national average of 68%. #downsendschool #wearecognita #surreyschools #independentschool #privateschool #surreyhills #juniorschool #seniorschool #boxhill #nursery #community #digitalcreator #digitallearning

Last year, our combined efforts enabled us to achieve our sustainability goal of reducing general waste by 20%. We also increased our recycling and boosted awareness of sustainability throughout the school. We are proud to say these efforts saw Downsend School being named a National Topic Award Winner by Eco Schools and received a City Kids Green Award for ‘Best Student Initiative’!
This year, we are focusing on energy use reduction and have set ourselves the goal of reducing electricity by 5% and gas by 10%. Last week, in our assemblies, we focused on climate change and ways that we can all take action to tackle this. We need everyone to do their part to help us achieve these objectives.

In school, we’ve already started taking action to reduce our use, including:

Undertaking a student-led energy audit
Adding reminder stickers to light switches
Organising a big switch-off before the Christmas break.
Taking part in activities such as Earth Hour.

We are expanding this initiative within our community, working together to make a positive change.

#downsendschool #wearecognita #juniorschool #surreyschools #surreyhills #boxhill #eco @citykidsmagazine #earthhour #planetearth

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Last year, our combined efforts enabled us to achieve our sustainability goal of reducing general waste by 20%. We also increased our recycling and boosted awareness of sustainability throughout the school. We are proud to say these efforts saw Downsend School being named a National Topic Award Winner by Eco Schools and received a City Kids Green Award for ‘Best Student Initiative’! This year, we are focusing on energy use reduction and have set ourselves the goal of reducing electricity by 5% and gas by 10%. Last week, in our assemblies, we focused on climate change and ways that we can all take action to tackle this. We need everyone to do their part to help us achieve these objectives. In school, we’ve already started taking action to reduce our use, including: Undertaking a student-led energy audit Adding reminder stickers to light switches Organising a big switch-off before the Christmas break. Taking part in activities such as Earth Hour. We are expanding this initiative within our community, working together to make a positive change. #downsendschool #wearecognita #juniorschool #surreyschools #surreyhills #boxhill #eco @citykidsmagazine #earthhour #planetearth

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Downsend School

Admissions: 01372 372311
General: 01372 372197