St. John's School, Leatherhead

St John's suits the child who is happy to have a go at things, sport, a play, a choir, a debate, and who does better somewhere the staff know them by name than in a very large or anonymous school. It is an independent, co-educational school for pupils aged 11 to 18, mainly a day school, with weekly or occasional boarding by arrangement. The fifty-acre site sits on Epsom Road, a short walk from Leatherhead town centre, and most families live within a few miles.

The school was founded in 1851 by a London clergyman, Ashby Haslewood, to educate the sons of poor clergy, and moved out to Surrey in 1872 with seventy boys. Girls came into the sixth form in 1989 and into the rest of the school by 2010. The mid-Victorian buildings from that first decade still frame the Quad, with the dining hall running along one side; the Old Chapel of 1878 has been restored for concerts and recitals, while the main chapel, stained glass and all, remains the centre of things. Day life is long and full: nine rugby and football pitches, teams down to D level in most sports, and a performing arts department that has grown noticeably. From the Fourth Form pupils join one of ten houses, and inter-house competition takes in everything from music to sudoku.

The Good Schools Guide calls it 'a quiet jewel' and 'a grounded school founded on kindness'. Parents tend to talk about the houses first: one says 'the house system is fantastic ... it sets it apart from others'. It suits a child who wants to be known, joins in without being pushed, and would rather belong somewhere than stand out.